It's A Long Fall From Cloud Nine
by The Tin Dogs Bollocks
Summary: Elliott Nixon knew Bullworth wasn't going to be easy. Her plan was to keep her head down and try her best to be ignored, but that was before she pissed off the head cheerleader and got herself wrapped up in the plans of the school's resident megalomaniac.
1. It's A Long Fall From Cloud Nine

**A/N:** Everyone who has me on author alert will be baffled because this isn't a Doctor Who story lol! I've spent the last two weeks addicted to Canis Canem Edit (yes, not Bully :P) and I couldn't resist writing something. I still haven't actually finished the game yet but meh, this can be set halfway through the game. I know there are probably millions of 'new student at Bullworth' stories but I don't care, I want to do one lol. It's been a while since I was 15 so I might not be able to understand the mindset of a 15 year old anymore... which is quite sad to think about actually. Also, I'm not American so don't gun me down for going all TV American on your asses lol. It's my only reference. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this :D

**Characters: **OC, Jimmy Hopkins, Gary Smith... oh sod it, everyone probably lol.

**Set: **During gameplay, beginning of 'Rich Kid Blues'

**Rating: **T (won't go up, but rating is mainly for violence and language. Basically it's the same rating as the game lol)

* * *

**Chapter I: **

**It's A Long Fall From Cloud Nine**

Elliott Nixon stared at the embossed stamp on the front of the envelope with her mouth hanging open. It was like she had just been injected with paralysing venom, only allowing her to move her eyeballs. But her eyes remained fixed on that stamp, perhaps in the hope that it would dissolve into nothing but a figment of her deranged imagination. But it remained there. Even when she carefully set it down to rub her eyes it remained.

The emblem for Bullworth Academy.

Slowly, like clockwork toy that was due to be wound up, Elliott rose from her seat on the edge of her bed and passed through her door and onto the landing. She stood there, still staring at the emblem.

'Dad?' she called.

'I'm not going to communicate by hollering up and down the stairs like a wild ape!' came the gruff response. 'You want something then you get your ass in here and ask me properly.'

Still staring at the letter, she turned and walked towards the stairs. She travelled down them easily, without having to look. She might have only been in this house for two days but she already knew the layout like the back of her hand. She could walk around it with her eyes closed. She travelled on autopilot to the living room, where her dad was sitting on the couch watching the TV.

'Dad?' she said, moving to the side of his chair.

'Oh _what_?' he snapped, turning his skinny face around to her.

Elliott held the envelope out to him. He blinked at it for a moment, and then snatched it out of her hand. He ripped it open, tossing the destroyed envelope on the floor and unfolded the letter. He read it slowly. Then he read it again.

'Well.' He said, finally. 'Looks like you won't be getting under my feet after all.'

Elliott snatched the letter, anger breaking through her shocked paralysis. 'You mean you're not going to do anything about it?!' she cried. 'Do you even know what Bullworth is?'

He shot her a brief look of irritation, and then turned back to the TV. 'Course I do. It's a school. A school that sorts out pains in the ass, and last time I checked you were a pain in the ass.'

Elliott stepped between him and the TV. 'I _can't_ go there, dad! Don't let mom send me there! I'm _begging_ you!'

'It's not up to me,' he shrugged, trying to see around her. 'And even if she has dumped you off on me and swanned off to her fancy job in Tokyo she's still in charge of you. I ain't been in charge of you since your mother left me when you were three. Now move your ass, I can't see through wood.'

Elliott stepped aside, still frowning. 'Yeah but… while she's over there you're my legal guardian! You can tell her that you don't want me going to Bullworth! You can tell her that you… you want me to go to a proper school. Or… or I could get a job!'

Her father snorted noisily. 'Like you could get a job.' He glanced at her and saw her frantic expression. He sighed heavily and shrugged his slender shoulders. 'Come on, Elle. What am I supposed to do with a fifteen-year-old girl, huh? I've got no experience with kids! You mom fought against me for five years to keep me from seeing you, then I give up and settle down in a nice quiet life she turns up on the doorstep with you and tells me I got to watch you for a couple of years while she's off gallivanting. I'm just as pissed off about the whole thing as you are, sweetheart. I got myself settled in this life, you know? I don't want to have someone nagging at me to put the toilet seat down and all that crap.' He sighed heavily and turned back to the TV. 'And anyway,' he added, waving one hand. 'It'll do you good to be hanging around with kids your own age. Healthier than hanging around here all the damn time.'

Elliott just stared at him. She hadn't expected much from her father; she hardly knew him. From a young age she had had it drummed into her head that he was a loser, so she was as surprised as anyone when she was left here two days ago by her mother. Just temporary, she had said. Yeah, just until her place was secured in Bullworth Academy.

'You can't send me there.' She said again, lamely.

'Stop being a brat,' he snapped. 'I ain't got time for whiney brats. The more you whine the more I think you should go. Now that letter says you start Monday, so I reckon you should sort out your little PMS hissy fit before then.'

Elliott glared at him. 'You're such a jerk.'

'Yeah, yeah,' he grumbled. 'Now shut up. I can't hear John Stewart over your whining.'

Elliott cried out in frustration and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Her father barely flinched, and only shook his head in annoyance. 'Teenagers.' He muttered.

* * *

After three attempts of trying to reason with her estranged father, two attempts of running away and one quite desperate but unsuccessful arson attempt, Elliott Nixon found herself standing in front of the huge iron gates of Bullworth Academy at nine thirty on Monday morning. She had made no effort for this day, mainly because she saw it as a defeat. She wore black jeans that were just a little too big for her and a white vest. Her blonde hair was tied loosely on the back of her head, with strands that hung over her pale, freckled face. She stared up at the gates like a prisoner just about to enter Death Row, and then sighed heavily.

'Waiting to be struck by lightening.' She muttered, turning her face up to the sky and speaking to the heavens. 'Or trampled by a herd of elephants. Please, anything. Just get me out of this one.'

When she looked back to the gates she was startled to see a face filling her vision. With a surprised yelp she hopped backwards, stumbled off the curb, and narrowly missed being crushed by the speeding school bus. She might have avoided instant death, but she hadn't avoided the ankle deep muddy puddle in the gutter. The mud splashed up the back of her leg and soaked her shoe. The whole thing left Elliott feeling quite shaken up, but it had sincerely cheered up the person who had appeared from nowhere.

The boy laughed hysterically, slapping the knee of his frayed blue jeans. Elliott grimaced at the state of his white school shirt. It was grey in places. Probably hadn't had a proper wash for weeks. He was covered in cuts and bruises, the majority of them obviously from fighting.

'Oh man…' he snorted, wiping tears of laughter. 'You shoulda seen your face. You nearly went right under those wheels.'

Elliott scowled. 'I'm glad my near death amused you so much.' She replied humourlessly. 'Try it again and I'll pull off your eyelids.'

The bully simply laughed once more and then headed off, shaking his head and giggling uncontrollably. Elliott watched him go. How was that for a welcome? She hadn't even stepped through the gates and she had nearly been killed by a complete imbecile. If they let crackpots like him wander around outside the premises then what kind of people did they keep in for detention?

With heavily sigh, Elliott started forward, pulling along her flimsy black suitcase. She had barely taken a step when a kid on a green bicycle whipped past her, almost taking her face off.

'Watch it!' she yelled after the angry looking boy with the shaved head, but he only offered her a vulgar gesture over his shoulder and whizzed away around the corner.

Yes, looked like life at Bullworth was going to be just peachy.

* * *

'Well, I must admit that appearances can be deceptive. Especially in your case, Miss Nixon.'

Elliott stared down at her hands, ignoring the pompous bastard who sat opposite her. She knew what he would try and do; talk down to her, make her feel like a bratty kid, tell her that she's got hidden potential and that it's his job to make sure she can see it herself. She had met a million people like him and frankly, she didn't have the time of day for them anymore. All she wanted to do was to get to her dorm and stay there until she could go home again.

'On the outside you seem like a pleasant young lady,' Dr Crabblesnitch said grandly, flicking the fingers of his right hand around like he was trying to snatch something out of the air. 'You've got good test scores. Bright. Intelligent. Full of potential…' He flipped a page over in her file and shook his head. 'But then there's this. Unruly behaviour. Disrespecting authority. Drug use. One or two arson attempts. Well you're just a nasty little girl at heart, aren't you?'

Elliott grunted in response and turned her attention to the door as if she were expecting someone more interesting to enter.

'Well I'm pleased to inform you that Bullworth will straighten you right up. We are a respected academic institution with a fine tradition of stern discipline. We are renowned the world over for the quality of our alumni and the strong moral fibre…'

Elliott tuned out, allowing her ears to pick up on the sounds outside the heavy wooden doors instead of the rambling, self-righteous jerk sitting opposite her. She could hear a woman shouting about something, someone arguing back at her. Somewhere else someone was crying while someone else was laughing. She continued to listen to the sounds of the local wildlife over Dr Crabblesnitch for what seemed like hours, until finally he stood up.

'The girls are the pride of this school,' he was saying. 'They are a lot more involved with the more social activities, so I'll expect no less from you. I'm quite sure they will keep you in line anyway. And I'm sure your unruly behaviour is just a cry out for attention. You will receive that attention you crave here Miss Nixon, and I know you will just thrive on our extra curriculum. You can have the rest of the morning to settle in, but your lessons will start from one this afternoon. Your belongings should already be in your dorm, which I'm sure you'll have no problem finding. Also you should have a uniform, which I suggest you change into as quickly as possible. So without any further ado, I welcome you to Bullworth, Miss Nixon. I hope we can get along.'

Elliott looked him up and down and then half nodded. 'Yeah.' She mumbled, and then headed for the door. If she was lucky she could survive here for longer than a month. If she was really lucky.


	2. Settling Into Hell

**A/N: This chapter is quite long, so bear with me lol. It is going somewhere. And thanks for the reviews Tinkies and EvilChick101!! You awesome apples :D**

* * *

**Chapter II:**

"**Settling Into Hell"**

The girl's dorm was really no more than a two-minute walk away, if that, but Elliott managed to take a total of seventeen minutes. Partly because she was walking about the same speed as a snail climbing a block of ice, but mainly because another one of the white shirted psychopaths took it upon himself to hurl an egg at her. It had missed, fortunately, but she still chased him around the building until she could give him a well-deserved kick in the balls.

So when she finally reached the girl's dorm she was tired, annoyed and at the end of her tether. The door opened before she had even got a grip on the handle and a tall, brown haired girl marched out, slamming hard into her shoulder. She looked at Elliott in complete horror, and then down at her pristine blue, diamond print sweater.

'I swear,' the girl said warningly. 'If I have any marks on this sweater you'll totally get a bill. And you won't be able to afford it at all. I can tell by your cheap and nasty sneakers.'

Elliott could only blink in bewilderment at her as the girl marched away. She had barely gotten halfway down the path when a swarm of boys in similar attire to her appeared from nowhere and immediately started vouching for her attention. Elliott shook her head, and then headed inside the dorm.

It stunk of stale perfume and something sweet and nauseating. She screwed her nose up against it and contemplated just heading for the gates and leaving. Maybe go and live in an alleyway for a few months. Probably a lot safer than this place. No, she wouldn't get far. The police mercilessly patrolled the towns surrounding Bullworth, keeping an eye out for students in particular. The last thing she needed was to get into trouble so early. So she looked down at the slip of paper in her hand for her dorm number, and set about looking for it.

It was on the top floor, near a storeroom. Before she even saw inside she could hear the girlish giggles coming from it. She paused, listening with a frown on her face. She sincerely hoped she wasn't sharing a room with a bunch of boy obsessed females, but in this place it looked unlikely that she would share a room with anyone else. So she approached the room, and peered around the door.

At the centre of the small group of girls was a cheerleader. She was pretty, maybe a bit too skinny but no doubt a grade A bitch. It was obvious, even just from a quick glance of her. The girls around were giggling and sniggering as the cheerleader messed around with something on the bed. Elliott tried to see over them and moved forward.

'Oh, my god!' the cheerleader giggled. 'I don't think I've seen a shirt like this one for about twenty years!'

She lifted a black and green t-shirt dress up to show the others, who all made the appropriate puking noises and other disapproving sounds. Elliott's face dropped, because that certain garment was hers.

'What the hell are you doing?' she demanded angrily.

The girls immediately took flight like a flock of pigeons, shoving past Elliott to escape the room and giggling manically. The only ones who remained were the cheerleader and a tall attractive red haired girl, who was still raking around in Elliott's suitcase. The cheerleader only smiled maliciously and held the t-shirt dress in her right hand.

'Getting to know our newest addition,' the cheerleader explained. 'We like to know what kind of student we have to share a dorm with. For all we know you could be a complete psycho, or a pyro, or a lesbian. And what better way to get to know a girl than to look through her luggage?' She turned and picked something else out of the suitcase; one worn black Doc Martin boot. 'I'm already thinking lesbo.'

Elliott snatched the shirt and the boot. 'Get the hell away from my stuff you tramp.' She spat. 'What give you the right to go raking through my things?' She stuffed the garments back into the case and closed it, turning around to glare at the two smug girls. 'I catch you doing that again and I'll wrap your skanky thong around your neck.'

The cheerleader only laughed. 'You might be a bit weird, but I like you.' She held out a hand. 'I'm Mandy. Mandy Wiles. And if you have an ounce of sense you'll stick with me and Christy. I think you've got potential. You have good bone structure. Crappy taste in fashion, but it doesn't matter.' She stood for a moment, regarding Elliott. 'What's your name, anyways?'

'Elliott Nixon.'

'Oooh,' the redhead, probably Christy, cooed and put her hands together. 'Boys name. I think it's so awesome when a girl has a boy's name.'

Mandy smirked. 'Why did your folks name you after a guy? Were you born a guy?'

Elliott scowled. 'No.'

Mandy half nodded. 'Well… I can keep that one for if you do anything to piss me off.' She turned and headed for the door, but then paused and turned back. 'Oh, and by the way, if I see you hanging around with Beatrice then I'll just assume you're a big a geek as her. Seriously, Elliott, I can make or break you here. Stick with me and do as I say and you'll be sitting with the important people in no time. If you're lucky you might just make it onto the cheerleading squad. Ever done cheerleading, Elli?'

'I'd rather eat a dead rat.' Elliott replied truthfully.

Mandy giggled. 'Cute. Well, ciao Elliott. I enjoyed our little chat.'

The two girls left the room. Elliott watched after them, frowning deeply. She wasn't entirely sure what had just happened there. Was she marked already? Or was that an attempt to be nice? She had met many girls like Mandy and she knew from experience that they changed more often than Dr Jekyll. Probably best to keep out of her way entirely.

She turned and flipped open her suitcase, and then sighed heavily at the sight of her disrupted belongings. Good job she didn't keep a diary or anything because it would have been all over the school by now. If you wanted to keep a diary in a place like this you had to be insane anyway.

A bang sounded behind her and she whirled around to see that it was the closet door. Before she could properly fathom out what was happening, the same short haired, angry looking boy who had nearly wiped her out on a bike earlier hopped out of the closet and ran out of the room. Elliott raced after him as far as the door and looked out, just to see him dodge Mandy Wiles (who was screaming like a piglet) and slide down the banister.

'What kind of circus is this?' Elliott yelled angrily, and then moved back in her room and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Elliott had only been looking out of her window for about ten minutes, but already she had seen two people stuffed into rubbish bins, one person hit in the face with what looked like a fire extinguisher and five students grabbed by prefects. This place really was a zoo. It was a wonder that it was open at all.

She had been disgusted with her uniform; a sickly green coloured tartan pinafore with a white shirt and green tie. It had taken her about half an hour to gather the nerve to at least try it on, but when she was in it she realised it wasn't all that bad. And when she found a dark green sweater in the closet it was even better. The sweater was a little too big for her, but she didn't care. She kept her sneakers on, mainly because the little buckled patent black shoes that waited for her looked like instruments or torture.

So now she was in her uniform. It was official. She was now a student at Bullworth Academy.

She still couldn't believe her mother had done this. Fair enough the job in Tokyo was going to earn her more money than any other job she had had, but she had been a little too keen to take it. She had also been a little too keen to leave Elliott with her father, a man who she had never met. Then to dump her on Bullworth? A place she herself actively detested? She had told Elliott on many occasions that the place should be closed down and then burnt down to prevent reopening. So why the sudden change of heart? What was so great about Tokyo that it had to come to this?

The bell rang, signalling the beginning of afternoon classes, but Elliott didn't move. Like hell she was going to class. She was going to spend the rest of the year sitting right here. She would keep herself alive by licking the condensation from the window. She wasn't stepping foot out of this building, not with all those psychopaths running around.

The door of the dorm opened. 'What are you still doing here?' a harsh voice barked. 'Didn't you hear the bell, girl?'

Elliott glanced around at the tall and grisly looking woman in the doorway. She had a pinched face, like she had been sucking on lemons, and thick round glasses. 'I'm deaf.' Elliott lied.

'I don't like foolishness in my dorms,' the woman snapped, crossing the room to her. 'I don't stand for it. Now get to class, young lady! Before I drag you there myself!'

The strange woman grabbed Elliott by her ear and pulled her to her feet. Surprised and taken off guard, Elliott cried out in pain.

'Hey! _Ow_! Get off me you crazy bat!' she yelled.

'It's Mrs Peabody to you, girl!' the woman told her briskly. She shoved her towards the doors. 'Now run along! I know that you have English with Mr Galloway, so I'll be coming along to check you're there in half an hour. If you're not I'll have you scrubbing those bathrooms for the rest of the week! Understood?'

Elliott rubbed her ear and nodded. 'Yeah.' She grumbled.

'I'm sorry?' Mrs Peabody barked, cupping her ear.

Elliott rolled her eyes and headed for the door. 'Yes, Mrs Peabody.'

'That's more like it. Now run along, girl! No tardiness!'

Elliott muttered irritably under her breath and mentally added Mrs Peabody to her hate list as she left. Then she realised she had been here one morning and she already had six people on that list.

* * *

First lesson was English, which turned out to be okay. Her teacher was Mr Galloway, who was pretty pleasant apart from his obvious drinking problem. His nose was reddened and his face was too thin. He didn't get up out of his seat as the students filed in. He only sipped on a mug, looking slightly bleary eyed. Elliott watched as all the other students took their places, and realised that the class was tiny. There were only about nine students in all, not including herself. For such a large school there weren't many kids.

'You can all just get on with your assignments,' Mr Galloway sighed, waving a hand dismissively. 'Quicker you get them done the quicker you can all leave.' He took another sip from his cup and muttered something about needing a drink.

Elliott moved to his desk, trying to ignore the curious stares of the students. 'Um, Mr Galloway?' she said, tentatively.

He looked up at her, eyes slightly bloodshot. She could smell the liquor on his breath and quickly deduced that it was Scotch he was drinking. She knew that because once you have a bad reaction to a certain drink the taste and smell stays with you forever. He blinked blearily at her, and then smiled.

'Oh yes, you must be Elliott. Nearly forgot all about you there! Why don't you go up there and sit next to uh… Beatrice. She'll show you what you're supposed to be doing.' He handed her a sheet of paper and then seemed to lose all interest in her.

Elliott glanced around. The students had also lost interest in her now and had found entertainment in other things. It didn't take her long to find who Beatrice was seeing as she was the only other girl in the classroom. She was sitting by the window and smiling nervously at Elliott. She was a strange looking girl who sat slightly hunched. Some of her blonde hair was tied back in a pink bow, the rest of it curled up at the bottom in a neat bob. She wore green glasses and her uniform seemed to be a lot brighter than Elliott's. Also, she had quite a nasty looking cold sore on the corner of her mouth.

Elliott headed over only because she felt like an idiot standing in front of the class the way she was. She moved quickly up the aisle and took a seat behind Beatrice; despite the fact the girl had been expecting her to sit beside her. Elliott pulled a half chewed pencil she had found in the dorm room from her pocket and looked at the sheet of paper.

Beatrice turned around in her seat and offered her another nervous smile, revealing a mouthful of metal braces. 'Do you need any help?' she asked.

Elliott glanced at her briefly. 'No.' she replied, simply. 'I'm sure I can manage.'

Beatrice looked momentarily hurt, but it passed. She turned back to her own paper and carried on working. Elliott looked at the line of jumbled letters at the top of the page and cocked an eyebrow. Seriously? This was the kind of junk they did at Bullworth? A five year old could do this. She sighed and began to make words. Ten minutes later and she had finished. She contemplated telling Mr Galloway that, but she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself, so she decided to doodle in the margin of her paper until someone else said they were finished.

Either the students in this class were all stupid or they were doing the exact same thing as her, because another twenty minutes passed and no one had finished. By now Elliott had filled the margin of her paper with various scribbles and had effectively expired her only source of amusement. So she lay her head down on her arms and looked out of the window. All she could see were a few trees, but that was a welcome sight from some of the freaks in the classroom.

Just when she thought she was going to fall asleep, she felt something hit her on the back of the head. She sat up and glanced around in bewilderment, but all the other students still had their heads down. Mr Galloway was practically asleep at his desk. Elliott glanced down to see a paper aeroplane resting by her hand. She glanced around again with a frown, but no one was showing any signs of being the culprit. She went to scrunch it up, putting it down to someone torturing the new kid, but then noticed writing. She unfolded it carefully and spread it out on top of her finished work. She raised an eyebrow as the read the note, which said;

_You need someone to show you the ropes. Meet me by the basement doors at seven._

Elliott frowned again and looked around the class. Still no one paying any attention to her. She folded the note up and pushed it in her pocket, and then sat back and looked back out of the window thoughtfully.

* * *

'So how are you finding it here at Bullworth?'

Elliott tried to ignore Beatrice, knowing that being seen with her would do little for her sensitive reputation. Especially if Mandy saw her. But then again why should she give a damn what Mandy thought? Like that tramp could make her life a living hell. Elliott knew she could destroy that tart if she wanted to.

'I feel like I'm in prison.' Elliott said finally.

Beatrice laughed horrendously, snorting loudly. 'I know what you mean. This place is like Alcatraz. Apart that we're not on an island of course. But they're only minor details.'

Elliott regarded her as they walked along the hallway. Both of them ignored a little kid getting stuffed in a locker. 'You're uh… you're Beatrice then?'

'Beatrice Trudeau. Very pleased to meet you. Your name is…?'

Elliott just looked away and said nothing.

'Oh that's okay. If you don't want to tell me then that's okay I was just-'

Elliott pulled the note she had received in class from her pocket and showed it to Beatrice. 'You have any idea who wrote that?'

Beatrice had to stop to read it. She held it close to her face, eyes squinting. Then she seemed to recoil in alarm and stuffed it back in Elliott's hands. 'Oh… oh dear, don't you go there. Seriously, if you go there it'll be disastrous! You don't want to _know_ who that note is off.'

Elliott raised her eyebrows. 'Well… yeah I do. Cos, you know, that's why I asked you.'

Beatrice was shaking her head and her hands. 'No. That guy is a big no-no. You'll burn that note if you know what's good for you.' She began to head away, still shaking her head. 'I'm not getting involved in that kind of stuff. I've got too much at stake. The whole of humanity is relying on me getting through medical school. I can't risk myself on…' Her rant became unfathomable as she disappeared around the corner.

Elliott remained where she was, holding the note and feeling quite confused. People really were round the twist here. At least she had gotten rid of Beatrice though. She wasn't a shallow, social status obsessed kind of person, but she didn't want to be labelled as a nerd on her first day.

'Move it along,' a tall prefect snarled at her. 'Classes are over, there's no reason for you to be hanging around in here. Unless you're up to something I should know about.'

Elliott moved away quickly and left the building. Maybe she should just ignore the note. It could be a set up. Some kids deciding to welcome her to the school with wedgies and stink bombs. Beatrice's reaction to the note also suggested that maybe she should ignore it, but her curiosity had been roused. Maybe it was someone who just wanted to show her the ropes, surely not everyone here was a potential resident on the Green Mile. But if that were the case then why would they want to meet her at night, by the basement?

Because everything pointed to her ignoring the note, she decided that she would go. Glancing at her watch she saw it was only four, so she headed back to the dorm to brood in her room before her meeting with this mysterious person.


	3. Through The Grapevine

**Chapter III:**

"**Through The Grapevine"**

At approximately six fifty-eight, Elliott arrived at the top of the steps that led down to the rusty basement door. She peered down the damp, grimy steps cautiously, eyes open for anyone lurking there with a rotten egg or a stink bomb gripped tightly in their hand. Fortunately, but also bewilderingly, there was no one there. In fact, apart from a few young kids hurrying back to their dorms, there was no one at all.

Elliott glanced at the note for the millionth time since leaving English earlier. No name, just a time. Could be that the person who wrote it had gone it as a joke and then forgotten to follow up on it. Christy, the tarty and frankly unstable friend of Mandy, took it upon herself to tell Elliott that her arrival had been overshadowed by an unruly kid called Jimmy Hopkins, who currently had all the cliques distracted. By the sounds of him Elliott wasn't at all keen to meet this Hopkins kid. He sounded like a bit of a megalomaniac to her.

Elliott glanced at her watch. Seven on the dot. She watched a prefect stroll by, eyeing her suspiciously. He moved off without a word, and after he had gone the walkway was completely empty.

'What a waste of time.' Elliott grumbled, crumpling up the paper and tossing it into a nearby bin. 'This place is a joke.'

'I've been saying that my whole life.' A loud, confident voice replied from behind. 'Even before I heard it existed.'

Elliott whirled around in surprise to see a boy perched on the wall by the car park opposite. His feet swung about eleven feet off the ground but the drop didn't seem to bother him. He was grinning broadly, baring all his teeth and immediately making himself look untrustworthy. The distinctive scar over one eye did little to help either. Elliott found herself feeling uncomfortable under his stare. So the note was from him. Wonderful, lured to a secluded area by a psycho. So much for surviving the first month.

'I have to admit you've secured my respect,' the strange boy told her, still grinning like a snake. 'You get a mysterious offer for a meeting after school in a secluded area on your first day and you actually show up _early_. You're either so desperate for friends that you'll risk your life or you have balls of steel.'

Elliott crossed her arms and frowned deeply at him. 'So you sent me that note just to take the piss out of me? How mature.'

He laughed. 'You think _I_ care about the ins and outs of your pathetic little life? That I would stoop so low to throw you a little message just so I could be your new BFF?' He waved a hand dismissively. 'I have more important things to be doing.'

Elliott decided that she hated this obnoxious little bastard already. Another person on the list. At this rate she was going to have to keep it in a filing cabinet. 'Yeah, you really look like you have so much to do.' She said. 'Sitting on a wall. Tormenting the new kid. Fascinating.'

'Actually, I'm sitting on a wall, tormenting the new kid and plotting. Very important stuff.'

'Sounds riveting.' Elliott replied, bored. 'You sent me the note to bore me to death?'

The boy hopped down off the wall, landing easily on both feet. He wasn't overly tall, only about the same height as her, and wore a teal sleeveless jumper over a grey shirt. He brushed himself down, but didn't take his eyes from her. 'I hope you're not implying that I'm boring,' he said, straightening up. 'Because your non too interesting yourself.'

Elliott sighed. 'Oh screw you, man. I'm not standing around here all night.'

'You mean you're not going to wait for your little note buddy?'

She paused just as she was about to head away and glanced back to him. 'You didn't throw it?' She frowned vaguely when she realised that she hadn't seen him at all in her English class. He hadn't even been there. This struck a new cord on her curiosity scale and she turned around fully to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Okay then, who the hell are you?'

He bowed at her, placing one hand flat against his stomach and the other behind his back. 'Gary Smith. Resident genius.'

'Genius, huh?' Elliott laughed humourlessly. 'Yeah, you're the next Einstein.'

'I'm glad you agree,' Gary replied, straightening up again and putting both hands behind his back. He began to circle her, glancing up and down the walkway. 'You see, it's a rarity for anyone in this cesspit to notice an intelligent person when they see one. In fact, it's a rarity for an intelligent person to actually _be_ in this school, taking it's packed to the rafters with psychopaths and social rejects. I bet you didn't count on that when you were reading the brochure.'

'Actually, I didn't get a chance to read it.' Elliott replied, refusing to turn to look at him as he walked behind her. She followed him only with her eyes, but she was still on guard in case he tried anything.

'Ah, yet another pitiful teen palmed off on the wonderful academic system that is Bullworth Academy. When I think about it I don't think a single person actually _chose_ to be here. Apart from perhaps Mandy Wiles, but she probably only chose it because she had a chance of being Miss Popularity. I can't say being the most sought after female in a school with approximately eleven females, _twelve_ counting yourself, most of which were dragged kicking and screaming from the shallow end of the gene pool is much of an achievement, do you?'

He stopped in front of her, expression full of mischief. Elliott took a moment to study him properly. Scars and burns on his hands, the more obvious scar across one eye, the recognisable sound of pills rattling in a plastic bottle when he moved. Yup, major troublemaker.

'I think I'm inclined to agree.' She said, carefully. 'Although a lot worse can be said about the male population of Bullworth.'

Gary nodded and began his pace around her again. 'Yes, I agree that it looks very doubtful that any of the males in this place will go on to spread their genes, but that can't be a bad thing.'

'In your case, definitely.'

Gary chuckled as he once again returned to her line of sight. 'Feisty. Won't last long, I promise you. In a couple of weeks and you'll be a nervous wreck, just like everyone else.'

'But not like you.' She found herself smirking in amusement despite herself, and quickly returned her expression to bored and uninterested.

'Oh I was a wreck before I even landed in this hellhole.' Gary admitted. 'ADD being the man culprit. But also life in general, my parents, western civilisation…'

'I don't mean to interrupt,' Elliott sighed. 'But frankly, I couldn't give a damn what you were like before Bullworth. In fact, I don't care what you're like now. You're wasting my time, and I don't like having my time wasted.'

'But you like _being_ wasted.' Gary grinned, an evil glint in his eye.

Elliott opened her mouth to retort, but found herself stunned to silence. She closed her mouth again and frowned in bewilderment.

Gary chuckled, and for the third time began to pace around her. This time she followed by turning her whole body. 'Elliott Jane Nixon,' he recalled aloud, hands behind his back and chin lifted. 'Previously an attendee of Southmere High about fifty miles from here. Always showed great potential, had brilliant test scores. They said you were set for Harvard.' He nodded appreciatively. 'Good for you. But it was around the age of thirteen when you started disrespecting your teachers and your peers. Your grades went down, that stick went further up your ass by the sounds of it, and by the age of fourteen you were hanging out with the seniors and getting into all kinds of illegal substances and heaven knows what else. After a particularly nasty catfight with a female gym teacher you were expelled. Before you could settle in to you new school your mother took a PA job in Tokyo, dumping you off with your estranged father until your place in Bullworth Academy was fully secured.' He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms, expression smug. 'And now you're here with the rest of the dropouts and losers. Where you belong.'

Elliott opened her mouth and raised a finger, but she had nothing to say. Instead she just exhaled, lowered her hand and frowned.

'Is that it?' Gary laughed. 'Oh I'm disappointed. I had you pegged as a little firecracker. At least ask me how I _know_ all this stuff.'

Elliott blinked. 'How the hell do you know all that stuff about me?'

He grinned and bowed. 'Thank you. Through the grapevine, mainly. Although I do have eyes everywhere.'

'What? How?'

'The same way I know that the person who wrote that note was non other than Ted Thompson, our resident misogynistic, polygynous all-star quarterback.'

Elliott blinked at him. 'Who?'

For some reason this one word enquiry was hilarious to Gary. He doubled over laughing. 'Oh… oh you've got so much to learn.' He stood up again, wiping his eyes. 'You've met Mandy Wiles, yes?'

Elliott nodded. 'Unfortunately.'

'Ted Thompson is Mandy's boyfriend. Although he tends to roam often… likes to try out new things, if you get what I mean.'

Elliott grimaced. 'Are you suggesting he wanted to _try me out_?'

Gary laughed again and began to walk away, shaking his head. 'Oh I'm glad I ran into you, you've made my night. Unfortunately I have to go. Important people to see. See ya later.'

Elliott started after him. 'Hey, wait!' she called, but he ignored her and disappeared around the corner.

She stood dumbly for a few moments, staring after him, and then glanced around, deep in thought. Deciding that she didn't want to hang around to be 'tried out', she headed back to the girl's dorm. An early night was in order. She needed it after this insane day.


	4. The Old New Kid

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! Oh man, I'm writing this story really quick because it's a massive break to be writing something that doesn't have to have major life-endangering cliffhangers at the end of every chapter lol! Anyway, I'll probably be updating daily from now on, and after the next chapter you may actually notice the beginings of a storyline... :P Enjoy it anyway! Let me know if there's any characters you want to see ;D**

* * *

**Chapter IV:**

"**The Old New Kid"**

Apparently the curfew came into effect at eleven, but that didn't really matter for Elliott. Not tonight, anyway. Since that confusing and aggravating conversation with Gary Smith, Elliott had remained in her dorm room, lying on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. The room remained empty until about nine, when the door opened slowly and a familiar face peered inside the room.

Beatrice hesitated and then cleared her throat. 'I heard Mandy saying that if she saw you with me that she would label you as a nerd and probably make the rest of your time here completely miserable and I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy but… I have to come in here because this is my room too.'

Elliott sighed. She didn't give a damn if Mandy Wiles thought she was a nerd if she saw her talking to Beatrice. She was sick of hearing about Mandy Wiles already, and she had only met her once. 'Stop being stupid.' She sighed, rolling onto her side so she had her back to the door. 'Just come in.'

Beatrice entered obediently and closed the door. She scurried across to her bed quietly and sat at her desk, unloading an armful of textbooks onto the already metre high pile. She hesitated and then turned around. 'Um… you're not sleeping are you?'

Elliott remained silent for a moment, wondering why she couldn't just have a little peace, and then sat up. 'I suppose not. Do you want something?'

Beatrice glanced away and fiddled with the hem of her dress. 'Well… you know you showed me that note earlier…'

'You want to know what happened.' Elliott finished for her. 'You know, you should just come out with things. I've only known you five minutes and I can already tell you've got the confidence of a frigging mouse in a cattery.'

'Well that's how I feel here,' Beatrice replied shrilly. 'Don't you? The people are mean and horrible and the curriculum leaves a lot to be desired.'

Elliott pulled her knees up to her chest. 'Yeah, yeah. So what do you want to know?'

Beatrice glanced nervously at the door to see if it was closed. 'Was it him?'

'Was it who?'

'You know! Ted! I recognise his handwriting from that time I had to tutor him in Math. So was it from him?'

Elliott lay back on her bed and closed her eyes. She had thought, or rather been _hoping_, that Gary had made it up just to rattle her, but unless Beatrice and Gary were teaming up (which seemed incredibly unlikely) this meant that what he said was probably true.

'I don't know.' Elliott sighed. 'I went there and there was this weird kid called Gary hanging around-'

Beatrice gasped and put a hand to her mouth. 'Gary Smith? Oh I would keep out of the way of him. He's insane. Complete sociopath. Only last week he lured Jimmy Hopkins down to the Hole to fight Russell. Jimmy came out on top though so Gary did a vanishing act. No one hardly sees him apart from in classes. Some people said he was going to plant a bomb in the boys dorm. Someone else said he's going to lock all the prefects and the teachers up and try and take over the school.'

Elliott was sitting up again, chin resting on her knees. 'I wouldn't put it past him.' She replied. 'From what I've seen he's a complete nut job.'

Beatrice snorted unflatteringly. 'That's an understatement.' She turned to her desk and picked up a textbook. 'He's got this complete obsession with ruling the school. Pinky Gauthier says he likes to torture people.'

'Then I guess I should be happy I got away with my thumbs in tact.' Elliott replied, stifling a yawn. 'Look, no offence Bea – you don't mind if I call you Bea do you?'

Beatrice blinked. 'Actually, I-'

'Great,' Elliott interrupted. 'I'm going to sleep. Turn the light off when you're done, and try to keep it down.' She slid under her covers and turned her back on the room.

'Oh… okay,' Beatrice said. 'Right, well goodnight then.'

Elliott grunted in response and closed her eyes. Hopefully she would sleep through until next summer and leave this horrible nightmare behind her.

* * *

Even if she were starving to death, Elliott would never eat this crap. She sat at the dining table, staring down with a half wrinkled nose at the undistinguishable slop on her tray. It could be curry, it had that spicy smell – but it looked more like dumplings in gravy. Either way it was lumpy and sloppy. And it stunk. And she was quite sure it was supposed to be breakfast, and normally she didn't have curry or dumplings and gravy for breakfast. There was no chance she was going to eat it. She pushed the tray away and settled with a slightly bruised apple. It would have to do until she went into town and got some real food.

She had barely bitten into the fruit when someone dropped heavily in the seat opposite her. She froze, apple half in her mouth, and stared at the blonde, white shirted boy who had arrived. He stared back, half grin on his face.

'Can I help you?' she enquired, lowering the apple.

'You're Elliott, aren't you?' the blonde boy asked. 'Thought so. You got big calves.'

Elliott raised her eyebrows. 'Um… what?'

'Mandy said you used to be a guy,' the boy explained. 'Says you can tell because you've got big calves. And you still have your boy name. I have to say you make a pretty girl though.' He winked and leaned forward. 'I've got no problem with the whole used to be a boy thing, y'know.'

Elliott tossed her apple at him. 'Scat, you spotty jerk.'

The blonde boy scowled. 'Hey I was just trying to be nice you stuck up bi-'

'Trent, leave her alone man.'

The blonde boy who was apparently called Trent, glanced around to the sound of the voice with a scowl, as if he were ready to argue with whoever it turned out to be. But when he saw the individual behind him his expression relaxed and he stood up. 'Oh, yeah,' he said, running a hand through his hair. 'Sorry, man. Yeah I kind of got carried away…' He glanced briefly to Elliott and then hurried away.

Elliott watched him go, and then turned her gaze on the person who had managed to make him scarper like that. She recognised him immediately. He was the angry looking kid who had burst out of her closet. Instead of thanking him for getting rid of Trent, she found herself groaning.

'Oh, it's _you_.'

He sat in the seat Trent had previously been occupying and shrugged his shoulders. He was short, but solid. Covered in scrapes and bruises and his knuckles were calloused from fighting. 'One and only. And it wouldn't kill you to have a little gratitude for me chasing off Trent for you.'

Elliott crossed her arms. 'Sorry but I just resent the fact that you were hiding in my closet. I'm a big grudge holder. That will probably stay with me to the grave.'

'I know it sucks being the new kid, but you should really pull that stick out of your ass. You'll only make life harder for yourself here.'

Elliott scowled. 'You're the second person to suggest there's a stick up my ass and I can assure you that there's not. I just have standards.' She glanced along the table to see a fat kid devouring the strange substance on his food tray. 'Apparently no one else here has.'

'Hey, I'm trying to be nice here.' The boy said, raising his hands in defence. 'If you want it to be like that then…' He shrugged and began to stand up.

Elliott hesitated, and then sighed. 'I'm Elliott.' She told him grudgingly. 'Elliott Nixon.'

He smiled a little. 'Jimmy Hopkins.'

'Oh, so you're that fist-happy little psycho everyone's been talking about.' Elliott smiled a little. 'I suppose I do owe you a little gratitude. If it weren't for you distracting everyone I'd probably be having an even worse time than I'm already having.'

'See? I knew you'd lighten up.' He sat back down and began fidgeting with a plastic fork on the table. 'So you got here yesterday, yeah?'

Elliott crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them. 'Yesterday morning.'

'And already you've managed to get Mandy's back up. Well done, took me about two weeks.'

Elliott frowned and sat up again. 'Why does everyone keep talking about her? I met her _once_ and that was _yesterday_. I haven't seen her since and apparently I've done something to really piss her off. She's been telling everyone that I used to be a guy for God's sake.'

Jimmy shrugged. 'Could be a lot worse. She could have said you were related to Edna.' He gestured towards the kitchen where horrific hacking and coughing sounds were coming from.

'Touché.' Elliott replied, raising one eyebrow.

'Touch what?' Jimmy frowned.

'Forget it. Look, I need to get out of here. I don't think I can face these inbreeds today. You got any idea of somewhere I can lay low for the day?'

Jimmy thought for a moment. 'The nearest place is probably Old Bullworth Vale. You got the movie theatre, the beach, the carnival… not much else. I'd take you on the grand tour, but I've got a few things I have to sort out today. Some snobby preppy kids need their faces smashing.'

'Preppy kids?' Elliott frowned.

'You know, the rich kids.' Jimmy told her. 'You haven't been shown the cliques yet?'

Elliott picked up her fork and prodded at the slop on her tray, still with no intention of eating it. 'I don't like getting involved with cliques.' She told him.

'Well you need to know them if you've got a chance of surviving this place. There's the Bullies, which you've already met. The spotty kids in the white shirts. But I've tamed them, they're pretty much harmless. Then there's the nerds…'

'Kids in the bright green sweaters,' Elliott nodded. 'Yeah I've seen them. I share a dorm room with Beatrice.'

Jimmy smirked. 'Tell her I said hi.'

Elliott only looked at him in bewilderment.

'Okay,' he went on. 'Then there's the Preps. Bunch of inbred, spoiled brats. They'll probably just avoid you if they think you're poor, so you'll be okay. The Greasers… just avoid them completely. They're the fifties rejects in the leather jackets. Finally, we have the jocks, but you already know them too.'

Elliott nodded. 'So who do you belong to?'

'Jimmy Hopkins doesn't belong to anyone,' Jimmy replied, standing up. 'I'm just here to give people what they've got coming to them. Anyway, welcome to Bullworth and all that crap. If you want anything just ask, everyone else does. Although everyone else always pays me, so I'll expect the same from you.'

Elliott smirked. 'Right. Thanks.'

'Yeah. See ya then.' He waved once and then headed out of the cafeteria, pausing to shove a white shirted Bully who was taunting a little kid. Elliott shook her head and went back to eating her apple.


	5. Antagonising The Protagonist

**Chapter V:**

"**Antagonising The Protagonist"**

As soon as the bell had rang, Elliott slipped past the burly Prefect that patrolled outside the Girl's Dorm and hurried out the front gates. She was still pulling on her red Bullworth hoodie as she jogged along the path towards the bridge. She should have known better really, in heading past the front of the school with her sweater over her head she should have expected some kind of attack. But the thought didn't occur to her and inevitably she felt something small and hard hit her on the backside. She yelped in surprise, jumping and becoming even more tangled in the sweater. She struggled with it and finally managed to pull it off her head.

Now with reddened cheeks and messy hair, Elliott stared around for the culprit. At first she couldn't see anyone, but then she heard a familiar chuckle. She snorted and looked up to see Gary Smith perched on the wall, fiddling with a slingshot. He grinned crookedly at her, and then aimed the slingshot at her for the second time.

Elliott only crossed her arms, red hoodie hanging from her hand. 'Wonderful way for a genius to spend his time.' She told him. 'Go on then, give it another shot.'

Gary aimed for a moment longer, and then dropped his hands. 'I ran out of pebbles anyway,' he told her. 'Used them all up on little Petey when he went past earlier with his bag of tampons. Have you met Femme-boy yet? You should look forward to it, he's fantastic. To beat on, that is.'

'I really hope your fascination with sitting on high walls is because you're contemplating suicide.' Elliott told him. She pulled the hoodie on again, this time with more care to keep an eye on Gary. 'Because if you are I can totally come up there and give you a hand.'

'The high altitude helps me think.' Gary replied. 'But enough about me, I'm pretty sure I heard the bell ring a few moments ago… Could it be that our newest recruit is playing _truant_ on her _second_ day? That's despicable.'

Elliott shook her head and began to stroll away. 'Mind you don't break your neck when you climb down. Because that would be a damn shame.'

'To you, maybe.' He called after her. 'Oh, and by the way, a couple of people are looking for you. I'd keep my eyes open if I were you.'

Elliott decided to ignore him. From what she had heard about Gary Smith he was the kind of person you did not want to get involved with at all. But then again if you knew what was good for you then you wouldn't get involved with anyone. You would just flee that awful place and never return.

Halfway across the bridge that led to Old Bullworth Vale, Elliot heard her name being called. She contemplated ignoring it, but she figured it would only come back to haunt her later. So she stopped and turned to see Beatrice hurrying up the path.

'Hi!' she smiled goofily. Her cold sore looked worse than ever this morning. 'Where are you going?'

Elliott looked at her glumly for a moment. 'To drown myself.'

Beatrice's smile faltered. 'Oh… well, um… the tide is quite low today so I don't think…'

Elliot sighed in exasperation. 'I don't know where I'm going, Beatrice. I'm just getting as far away from that hellhole as I possibly can. Then, if I have no other choice than to go back, I might actually drown myself but it is a last resort. Now are you coming with me or did you chase after me to tell me the ideal weather conditions of self-drowning?'

Beatrice shifted on her feet. 'Oh, well… if it's okay I'd like to come with you. You see, I have a free period and…'

'Fascinating.' Elliott interrupted, resuming her walk across the bridge. 'Now where do you want to go? I don't have much money, so it will have to be something free.'

Beatrice walked alongside Elliott, her lanky build making her movements look awkward. She fiddled with the front of her dress as she moved along; glancing around every now and then to see who else was around. 'Well… I think I have a little bit of money…'

'Great.' Elliott nodded. 'Then we can go get something to eat. I'm surprised no one else has starved to death in that place with the crap that they serve. I might call the Health Inspector when I get back.'

'You can't use phones on campus,' Beatrice told her. 'Not after someone called all the emergency services and every single take out place in the area to the campus. Since then you have to use the phone whilst being watched by Miss Danvers. Which is _really_ embarrassing when you have to talk about… y'know… _private_ things…'

'Yeah I can imagine.' Elliott replied. 'Look, I'm going to be honest with you, you're not my usual choice of person to hang out with. I'm not being jerky or anything, but I'm just telling it how it is. Even if you are a bit of a nerd I think you're okay, so I don't mind hanging out with you. Although at the same time I know you'll never accept me fully because I'm not a nerd myself. So I think we'll both be happy with just hanging out every now and then, mainly when there's no one else around. You think that'll work?'

Beatrice was quiet for a moment. 'Yeah, yeah I guess so…'

'Cool.' Elliott nodded. 'So, what do you want to do? Is the carnival open? I'd like to check it out. You can get us some hot dogs or something.'

Beatrice nodded. 'Yeah, sounds fun.'

Elliott returned her full attention to walking, and the pair of them continued to the Carnival in silence.

* * *

'This is okay, I suppose.' Elliott commented through a mouthful of hotdog. She and Beatrice stood beside the closed down Roundabout and watched the kids of The Big Squid squealing as they were spun nauseatingly fast. Beatrice looked like she was going to be sick just watching.

'I'm sorry, Elliott,' she said in a wavering voice. 'But I don't like the big rides. They make me giddy.'

'That's what they're for!' Elliott insisted. 'Why else would you go on something like that if you didn't want to end up feeling sick?' She glanced to Beatrice, but realised that she had only made her even more wary of the ride. She sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Okay, fine. No big rides.'

Beatrice smiled. 'Thanks. Well… um, we could go and check out the Freak Show if you want. It's quite interesting. And it also is interesting for me to see the extremes of physical deformity for when I go to Medical School.'

Elliott half nodded as they both began to walk in the direction of the Freak Show. 'So you want to be a doctor, huh?'

'Oh I'll be much more than a doctor,' Beatrice snorted. 'I'm going to find the cure for cancer. I'll save the whole of mankind.'

Elliott regarded her for a moment. 'Right. Good on you. Stick with that.' She balled up the paper that had contained her hotdog and tossed it aside as they turned the corner. Doing this meant she hadn't been watching where she was going, causing her to slam right into someone who was stood directly in the centre of the path.

'Hey, watch it-' Elliott started, and then looked up to see Mandy Wiles standing before her, hands on her skinny hips.

'Well if it isn't Elliott the post-op with metal-mouth.' Mandy taunted. 'I just _knew_ you two would find each other eventually. It's like it was meant to be.'

Elliott grimaced at her, and then noticed the two other girls on either side of her. One of them was Christy and the other was a tall, thin girl with black pigtails and glasses. Elliott recalled seeing the three of them earlier in cheerleading uniforms and deducted that these were the best of the female selection in Bullworth Academy. Which, as Gary had pointed out, wasn't really that impressive.

'Ironic that we find you on the way to the Freak Show.' Elliott retorted. 'Trying to rake in some extra cash for that nose job?'

Mandy looked momentarily horrified, but her smug sneer soon returned. 'I think pretty much the whole school knows about _your_ little operation now. I told you, didn't I? You should have stuck with us. Instead you lower yourself to hanging out with social rejects like Beatrice. Who's your next conquest, Eunice?'

The other girls giggled. Elliott didn't get it, mainly because she hadn't met Eunice yet. 'Look, princess,' she sighed. 'I couldn't give a damn about what you or anyone else thinks about me. No one who's got an ounce of sense is going to believe that I used to be a guy, and –just to point out a flaw in your pathetic insults – if I _had_ had a sex change I probably would be chasing boys, not trying to get stuck into girls. So you have to stick with one insult or the other; am I a post-op or am I a lesbian? Make your mind up so I can get on with my day.'

Mandy stared at her in bewilderment, as did Christy and the other girl. So did Beatrice, but she didn't say anything.

'Oh… migod.' Mandy breathed, putting a hand on her chest. 'You are such a _weirdo_. When I first saw you I thought there was something weird, especially when I saw the size of your calves, but… wow… I never had you down as a total retard.'

Elliott frowned. 'Excuse me?'

Mandy laughed. 'And here I was about to tell you to keep away from Ted. I heard about you sending him that note to meet him at the basement steps so you could spread your vile diseases-'

'Hang on, _what_?' Elliott scowled, stepping forward. 'I did _not_ send that. I don't even know who Ted is!'

Mandy laughed again. 'Oh yeah, right. Like I'll believe that you don't know who our football quarterback is. Funny.' She took a step forward, glowering down at Elliott, who only scowled in return. 'If I see you even _looking_ at Ted, I'll make you into such a joke even Beatrice here won't be seen dead with you. Understand that, lesbo?' Elliott glared at her, not backing down. Eventually, Mandy stepped back and nodded to the other two. 'Come on girls,' she said. 'We've got cheerleading practice. Let's leave these two losers to be… losers together.'

Christy and the dark haired girl giggled and then followed their leader, praising her on such a brilliant show. Elliott glared after them, practically seething. Beatrice stepped beside her, fidgeting nervously.

'You should just ignore Mandy,' she said. 'She's a… a _bitch_.' She whispered the last word.

'You're damn right.' Elliott fumed. 'That anorexic tramp is going to get what's coming to her, I can guarantee it.'

With that, she stormed away towards the exit of the carnival. Beatrice hesitated before following.


	6. Making Ties

**Chapter VI:**

"**Making Ties"**

Elliott stood at the bottom of the stone steps that led up to the library and felt her nose wrinkling in distaste. She could already smell the mixture of BO and antiseptic cream on the wind, coming from the pack of greasy nerds who hung around outside the large wooden doors. She didn't want to go in, but Mr Hattrick and his long divisions said otherwise. Elliott was bright and she was clever, but when it came to maths she was practically brain dead. She needed to get a calculator, and to get that she needed to brave the library.

It could be worse, she supposed as she headed up the steps. She could have had to go into Jock territory and risk yet another bout of insults directed at her sexual preference and her calves. She was confused about the whole deal about her calves, she thought there was nothing wrong with them.

Elliott had barely taken two steps after clearing the stairs before a foul smell crept up on her. She put a hand to her mouth and let out a low groan of disgust. It was then when the short, fat, red haired kid stepped out in front of her and waved.

'Salutations.' He beamed, breath stinking of onion and something else undistinguishable and foul. 'You must be the newest attendee of Bullworth Academy!'

Elliott stared at the boy before her, and then looked him up and down. There were some rather questionable stains on his shorts and shirt, and his zipper was down. She looked back up to his face. His face was podgy and his eyes were a little too far apart. His round glasses perched on his nose, wrapped with tape in places from where they had broken previously. His red hair was curly and wild.

'Yeah, nice to meet you.' She muttered, and then attempted to pass.

'You share a dorm with Beatrice, don't you?' the strange, smelly boy asked. 'She said so. She's one of us, you know.'

'What, a nerd?' Elliott enquired.

His expression darkened. 'I meant a member of the astronomy club, but if you want to be like that…'

Elliott nodded. 'Yeah, I do.' She moved to pass him again and this time he allowed her to go.

'I'm Algie, by the way!' he called after her. She ignored him and kept walking. 'Well, catch you later coolio!'

Elliott hurried through the doors of the library and away from the swarming nerds. She even ignored Beatrice, who was waving and smiling happily. Inside the library she knew she wasn't safe, but if she grabbed a calculator and slunk away to a hidden corner perhaps she could avoid them a little while. So that's what she did. She got a calculator from the miserable looking Mrs Carvin and skulked past a group of gossiping preppies to the study area behind the stacks. Thankfully when she got there it was deserted, so she sat down and decided that this would be a good a place as any to get on with these long divisions.

Elliott got to the third sum before she was interrupted, which was a good amount of time. The boy who turned the corner didn't notice her at first because he had his hands in his pockets and was looking down at his feet. He was small and slim, with a pink shirt beneath his blue school jumper. He glanced up and was surprised to see Elliott sitting there.

'Oh… I uh, I didn't realise there was anyone around here. Sorry… I…'

'You can stay if you're quiet,' Elliott told him. 'And you don't ask me if I used to be a guy.'

He regarded her for a moment thoughtfully and then took a tentative step forward. 'You're the new girl, right? Yeah I've heard about you.'

She frowned at him. 'Oh yeah? What exactly? That I used to be a guy? That I've got huge calves?'

'Actually… I heard you were getting crap off Mandy Wiles for no reason.'

Elliott studied him for a moment and wondered if this kid could be one of the more normal students at this messed up school. 'I'm Elliott.' She told him.

'Yeah, I know,' he nodded, taking the introduction as an invitation to sit down. 'I'm Pete.'

'Oh you'll be the kid Gary was talking about. He calls you Petey?'

Petey groaned and flopped on the desk. 'So you've had the pleasure of meeting him already. Oh man… Gary's such a jerk.'

'Yeah, I gathered.' Elliott nodded. 'So what brings you to the dark and dismal corners of the library? Hiding from someone or are you just after some peace and quiet?'

'A bit of both.' Petey admitted. 'This place is such a dump. There's absolutely no place for me here. I'm too cool to be a dork and too dorky to be anything else.'

Elliott smiled a little, probably her first genuine smile since arriving. 'So I'm not the only one.'

Petey smiled back at her, but still looked a little startled. 'So you uh… you hate it too huh? How did you end up in this dump anyway?'

Elliott shrugged. 'Well…' she started, but was instantly interrupted.

'Well, well, well, what _do_ we have here? Are you both preparing to _breed_ a whole new clique for this school full of sexually confused kids? You know, you both make such a cute couple, shame that Petey isn't into girls – even girls with calves as big as Bo Jackson's. You know, Petey, if you're looking for some action all you've got to do is go down to the showers and drop your soap-on-a-rope.'

Elliott and Petey looked around to see Gary leaning against the stacks; arms crossed and grin on his face. Petey groaned and slumped on the desk again.

'Oh man… Leave me alone, Gary.'

'Oh don't mind me,' Gary went on, moving to the desk and placing his hands on it beside Petey. 'Carry on. Just pretend I'm not here. I'm a fly on the wall.'

'You'll be a fly on the bottom of my shoe if you don't buzz off.' Elliott snarled, getting to her feet. 'You told Mandy that that stupid note was from me to Ted, didn't you?'

Gary straightened up and turned to her. He mocked shock and put a hand to his chest. 'You think _I_ would stoop to do such a thing as spread a pointless rumour just so Mandy would make your life a living hell?'

'Sounds like you.' Petey mumbled.

Gary turned around to him. 'What was that, Petey? You've certainly found yourself a pair of balls since you started hanging around with your new _boyfriend_. Is Jimmy letting you wear the pants for a while?'

'Shut up, Gary!' Petey wailed. 'Leave us alone! We haven't done anything to you.'

'Oh but he's done something to me,' Elliott snapped, circling the desk so it wasn't between her and Gary anymore. He watched her, amused but wary. 'I've met loads of people like you,' she told him. 'Like making other people's lives a living hell because your own is beyond saving. Well you're not fooling me, pal. It takes a lot more than a few stupid rumours and a pissed off cheerleader to bring me down.'

'Huh,' Gary half laughed. 'You're pluckier than I thought. Isn't she plucky, Petey?'

'Gary-' Petey started.

'It wasn't an invitation for you to start whining, you Judas.' Gary shot at him, and then returned his dark eyes onto Elliott. He studied her for a moment, tapping his chin. 'It's only your second day here, am I right?'

'Yes,' Elliott replied. 'And already I'm going to kill someone. The more you hang around here the more likely it is that it's going to be you.'

'Well…' He paused and thought. 'You know, Elle – you don't mind if I call you Elle, do you?'

Elliott shrugged. 'Whatever makes your exit quicker.'

'Right then, _Elle_, I can tell you in all honesty that I didn't breathe a word to Mandy Wiles. In fact, I try my best to avoid her poison as much as physically possible. Like I've told you before, I have much more important things to worry about, like whether I'll have a gold or platinum crown when I'm king of the school… But for now I suppose that can all be put on standby because – and you should be very grateful Elle – I'm offering you my help.'

Elliott grimaced at him. 'Your _help_?'

'Oh man,' Petey moaned. 'Gary, don't. Just leave her alone, okay?' He turned to Elliott and shook his head. 'Seriously, don't listen to him. He's-'

Gary shoved him back without taking his eyes from Elliott. 'Seal it, Femme-Boy.'

Petey stumbled into a bookshelf, knocking three books onto the ground. He frowned and waved a hand at the two of them in exasperation. 'Screw you, Gary. I don't even care.' With that he stormed off, around the stacks and out of sight.

Elliott stared back at Gary, the pair of them looking like they were ready to strike out if the other made any sudden movements. He was a complete psychopath, yes, but she could probably use him to teach Mandy a lesson. As much as she hated to admit it, Gary _was_ quite smart and he seemed to have a certain talent in making other students suffer. She would have to go about it carefully though because she knew if Gary thought for a moment that she was using him instead of the other way around he would turn on her before she even realised what was happening. At the same time she had to be wary of whatever he had planned.

'Well?' he smirked. 'Last chance. You want my help?'

Elliott narrowed her eyes briefly. 'Okay then. Why not?'

Gary grinned and his eyes seemed to shine. 'Great.' With that he turned and began to head away.

'Hey!' Elliott called after him. 'Where're you going?'

'I need to sort out a few things,' he told her over his shoulder. 'I'll be in touch.'

With that he disappeared, leaving Elliott in the secluded area on her own. She returned to her seat but her mind was too preoccupied to be dealing with long division, so instead she just sat back and allowed her thoughts to wander.


	7. Another One Bites The Dust

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews Tinkies! :D I've just realised how much of a misery guts Elliott is. I think she needs to cheer her face up a bit, it isn't all bad is it? Lol this is terrible, I can't even relate to my own character's misery xD Anyway, yet another quick update (I'm having a slow week) so enjoy and R & R :D**

* * *

**Chapter VII:**

"**Another One Bites The Dust"**

Elliott stood on the sidelines of the football pitch dressed in baggy grey gym pants and an oversized white vest. She felt nervous on Jock territory, as so far she had managed to avoid it, despite most of her problems stemming from its residents. She had been stupid enough to be collared by a Prefect whilst trying to avoid Gym class, and he had dragged her all the way from the front gates to the gymnasium. She had tried to reason with him, even bribe him, but apparently Prefects had hearts of solid steel. He barely looked at her as he dragged her along by the collar.

So after being sized up and leered at by Mr Burton she had changed and joined the others by the football field. Surprise, surprise Mandy, Christy and the girl with the dark pigtails were there, along with the preppy girl, Pinky. She remembered Pinky from bumping into her outside the Girl's Dorm on the first day. She stood checking her nails and looking flawless in shorts and a light blue polo shirt. Beyond her stood a short fat girl in a stained grey t-shirt and baggy blue shorts. She was breathing heavily, mouth hanging open as she looked out across the field. Elliott guessed that she must have been Eunice, and if she wanted to be even remotely respected in this school she supposed she needed to avoid her. The last girl in the row was a pretty girl with short auburn hair, a neck scarf, a white baggy polo shirt and dark grey gym shorts.

Considering that Mandy and co. probably would laugh if she went over to them, and talking to Eunice would be like effectively signing her own death warrant, Elliott approached the girl with the neck scarf. She stopped beside her, but the girl made no signal that she had noticed her arrival.

'Uh… hi.' She said finally, feeling completely ludicrous.

The girl sighed and turned to look at her. She eyed Elliott scrutinising and then made a quiet sound of interest. 'So you're the new girl.' She said, resting one hand on her hip. 'I thought you'd be shorter. And fatter. Actually, I pictured you as a female version of Jimmy Hopkins.'

Elliott considered this. 'Well… thanks. I guess.'

'I hear you've managed to rattle Mandy's cage already. What did you do? Get it on with Ted? Point out that her left leg is longer than her right?'

Elliott frowned vaguely and glanced over to Mandy. On closer inspection she was a little lopsided… 'I didn't do anything to her.' She replied truthfully. 'She's just got it in for me big time. Not that I give a damn.'

'I wouldn't either. Mandy's a bitch. If I were you I'd just keep on doing what you're doing, cos whatever it is you're sure pissing her off.' She paused and regarded Elliott for a moment longer. 'I'm Lola, by the way.'

'Elliott.'

Lola nodded and then glanced across the field. Elliott followed her gaze to see her watching Mr Burton, who was coming towards them from the other side of the field.

'I can't believe I ended up here today.' Lola snorted. 'I was supposed to be meeting Johnny in town. That asshole Prefect, y'know the one with the glasses and the really cold hands? He grabbed me outside of the gates and _made_ me do this. I hate Mr Burton, he's such a perv. Did you know that a girl got _expelled _because she complained after he hit on her?'

Elliott lifted her eyebrows in surprise. 'Really?'

'Yeah, he's such a toad.' She sighed heavily. 'Oh I hate gym so much. I spent so long on looking hot this morning and now I'm going to end up all sweaty and gross. Johnny won't want to touch me.'

Elliott eyed her. 'Right… okay.' She mumbled.

'Afternoon, girls!' Mr Burton grinned as he reached them. 'Glad to see we have a good turnout today.' He glanced to Lola. 'Nice to see you for a change, Miss Lombardi.'

Lola smiled sarcastically and then looked away with her arms folded. Mr Burton watched her for a moment longer, and then went to look at all the girls in turn – not always at their faces.

'Right, we're going to do some track today, so I want to see you all with those legs up, right?' He paused and smirked. 'Six laps. You do your laps and then go shower. No rush though, you can take it nice and slow.'

Elliott found herself grimacing in disgust and wasn't surprised to see the majority of the other girls with the same expression. Mr Burton took her by surprise when he blew his whistle and she jumped.

'Go on then!' he bellowed. 'Get moving!'

Mandy, Christy, the girl with the pigtails and Pinky all started running in a line, jogging at a steady pace and gossiping between themselves. Eunice started running, but she wasn't going very fast and was out of breath before she had even gotten ten yards. Lola sighed heavily and started jogging, and Elliott jogged alongside her.

'So you're in with the Greasers then?' Elliott asked as she jogged beside her.

Lola shot her a sideways glance. 'Yes. Y'know, I don't mean to be rude or anything… Oh hell of course I do, I kind of like running on my own. Means that when I've got around the top end of the track I can slip off and meet Gord.'

'I thought you said you were dating a guy called Johnny?'

Lola's attitude quickly changed and she hissed nastily. 'You tell anyone I said that and I'll crush your windpipe, got that?'

Elliott shrugged defensively and dropped back. 'Okay, chill. I won't say anything.'

Lola nodded. 'Good.' Her tone hopped back up to a cheery level. 'Well nice meeting you, Elliott! See you round.'

With that, she picked up the pace and sprinted away. Elliott remained at a slow jog, frowning at the peculiar exchange with Lola. She glanced behind her to see that Eunice was staggering along quite far behind, coughing and wheezing. Elliott felt sorry for her, but looked away. When she looked ahead she noticed that she was gaining on Mandy and the others. After a moment she realised they were letting her catch up.

'Oh hey, Post-Op,' Mandy sneered as the group fell into line with Elliott. 'Must feel much better running without that extra piece between your legs.'

'Piss off, you tramp.' Elliott shot back at her. 'I don't know what your problem is. I haven't done anything to you. I'm not interested in your 'roid packed boyfriend.'

Mandy snorted. 'Then you _must_ be a lesbo.'

'I told you before, make your mind up on what I am. You're just confusing me.'

Mandy scowled at her. 'You know, the more I see your stupid little face the more I hate you. Why don't you just crawl off and die with your nerd friends? You'd clear up the space for some new people that actually _matter_.'

'Oh go and throw up your dinner,' Elliott shot at her, and then reached out and prodded Mandy's stomach. 'You've got a bulge.'

Mandy flushed red. 'Oh I'm going to make your life _hell_ you little bitch. I swear, you're going to wish you never came to Bullworth.'

'Too late for that.' Elliott replied.

Mandy stuck a foot out in front of her unexpectedly, and Elliott stumbled over it. The other girls laughed loudly as Elliott landed face down on the track with a yell. She lay there, winded, and watched the feet of the other girls head away around the track. Slowly, Elliott pushed herself up onto her knees. _Now_ she was angry. Mandy was pushing her, and she better not be there when she hit breaking point, for her own sake.

Eunice pounded by, coughing and wheezing. Elliott watched her, and then got to her feet, dusting the dirt and grass from her clothes. This whole thing was beginning to get tiresome. Elliott glared after Mandy and her cronies, eyes narrowed to slits and anger bubbling in her stomach. There was only one thing she could think of to do at a time like this.

* * *

'Dad! But please!' Elliott whined into the phone, still a little damp from the shower after gym class. 'I'm begging you!' She glanced over her shoulder to see Miss Danvers quickly look away. She had absolutely no privacy here; she could see the other kids milling around outside the reception, probably listening to every word she said.

'Oh for God's sake, Elle,' her father snorted down the other end of the phone. 'You've only been there two days. You haven't even given it a chance.'

'But the kids here are insane!' Elliott insisted. 'Seriously, dad, they all need to be chained up and only fed in the evenings! Already I've got people wanting me dead and half the school thinks I used to be a guy! They're calling me Post-Op!'

'They'll leave you alone as soon as the novelty of you being the new kid wears off. All kids are like that, Elle. Did you expect to go to school and everyone to be nice to you in your first week? How did you react to newbies at your old school?'

'Well I certainly didn't write, '_Here comes Elliott Nixon, so guys keep your dicks in'_ on the car park wall!'

Her father simply chuckled. 'It's just their way of welcoming you to the school. Stop being such a wimp, Elle. I'd hate to think someone from my loins got all upset and whiney from being called a few bad names.'

Elliott grimaced. 'I don't want to hear about you and your loins, dad.' She caught Miss Danvers glance up curiously and turned away. 'Please, just get me out of here. I'll do anything. I'll… I'll scrub the house everyday until mom comes back. I'll make your meals every night! You can't leave me here!'

But her dad had already made up his mind. 'Just suck it in, Elle. Even if I wanted to take you out of there I couldn't, your mom has to sign you out. Now if you'll excuse me my beer is going flat.'

'Dad!' Elliott cried. 'Come on, _please_!'

'Bye, hon. Have a good day.'

Elliott listened to the dead tone in shock. It was only when it cut off that she was roused from her catatonic state and glanced around. Miss Danvers had one pointy finger pressed on the hang-up button on the phone.

'Time's up.' She told her with obvious pleasure.

Elliott scowled and thrust the phone receiver at her. 'Yeah, thanks.' She muttered, and then stalked out of the reception.

* * *

When she barged through the door of her dorm room Beatrice yelped in alarm. The book she currently had open on her lap slammed shut and then dropped to the floor, sending a mountain of scribbled notes fluttering up in the air like ticker tape. Elliott didn't notice though, as she was too caught up in her own annoyance.

'Beatrice, lend me your pencil,' she demanded. 'I'm going to go down there and stick it in Mandy's eye.'

Beatrice clutched her pencil tightly. 'I don't think that's really a good idea, Elliott…'

Elliott breathed out sharply through her nostrils. 'You're right, it probably won't hurt her half as much as I want it to.' She stood for a moment, scowling at the floor, and then glanced to Beatrice. 'Why weren't you in gym class this afternoon?'

Beatrice smiled shyly. 'I uh… I have sensitive ankles so I, um, I can only do swimming but because the pool is out of order…'

Elliott half nodded and turned towards her bed. 'How the hell do you survive here, Bea? I mean… it's like bull bait.'

Beatrice shrugged. 'I keep my head down,' she replied. 'And I help a lot of people out with their homework so they tend to leave me alone. Some kids though… I mean, some of my friends… they have it really bad. It's totally uncalled for, but…'

Elliott flopped on her bed face first. 'I wish everyone would just die.' She groaned, voice muffled by the bed.

Beatrice hesitated. 'If you want to be alone…'

'Not you.' Elliott sighed, rolling over onto her back. 'You're okay. You're one of the few people who doesn't make me want to claw my eyes out and eat my own face.'

'Um… thanks?'

'Don't mention it.' Elliott stared up at the ceiling, hands behind her head. 'I need to do something about this before it gets out of hand. I don't like being made a fool of, especially by someone like Mandy. I need something really big. Something that will ruin her whole reputation. Something… juicy.'

Beatrice regarded her thoughtfully. 'Well… y'know… I'm not really good with ruining people's reputation what with mine being so…'

'I know, I know,' Elliott replied impatiently. 'I'm just thinking aloud. You don't even have to listen if you don't want to.'

Beatrice nodded and began to pick up her scattered notes. 'Oh, okay.'

'Oh man, I'm so out of practice. It's been so long since I've had to really _destroy_ someone. I've almost forgotten how to do it.'

Beatrice put the pile of papers back on her desk and turned in her chair. 'You know… if you want something doing you should find Jimmy Hopkins. He's been doing a lot for people recently.'

'Yeah I met him,' Elliott replied. 'Also found out that he doesn't come cheap and I have about ten dollars to my name.' She pushed herself up on her elbows. 'Unless…'

Beatrice turned away, shaking her head. 'No, sorry Elliott, but I need to keep my money for the _M_ section of my encyclopaedia collection…'

Elliott collapsed again. 'Well you know what this means, don't you? I'm going to have to get a job.'

'A job? Are you serious?'

'No, I just thought it would be a really funny joke.' Elliott replied sarcastically. 'Of course I'm serious. How far am I going to get with ten dollars? Do you know if they're taking on anywhere in town?'

Beatrice was shaking her head, looking worried. 'Elliott, you really don't want to do that. If the Preppies see that you actually have to _work_ then you'll have them on your back too.'

Elliott sighed heavily. 'Does it really matter? I don't need to do anything at all for them to hate me, so they can't really hate me any more can they?'

'I think you should talk to Jimmy.' Beatrice suggested. 'He's really…' She smiled coyly. 'He's really nice.'

Elliott wrinkled her nose. 'Are you and him… y'know?'

Beatrice blushed and giggled, turning away in embarrassment. 'He… he's done a few nice things for me.' She waved her hand and then shrugged, still red in the cheeks. 'We might have… kissed.'

Elliott grimaced. 'I wouldn't have thought you were his type. Or visa versa.' She shrugged. 'Well, I guess you have to expect the unexpected in this place. I suppose I could try talking to him. You have any idea where he'll be?'

'Oh he could be anywhere,' Beatrice replied. 'Jimmy's like a free spirit. He goes wherever the wind takes him…'

Elliott stood up. 'Yeah right, okay I got it.' She moved to the closet and pulled it open, looking for her casual clothes. 'Well I'm going to go see if I can find him. Beats hanging around here the whole night.'

'Just remember the curfew is at eleven.' Beatrice reminded her. 'If the Prefects catch you…'

'I know.' Elliott replied, pulling off her school shirt and pulling on a purple loose knitted sweater. 'You just do your cancer research or whatever it is you're doing.'

'Actually it's algebra.' Beatrice informed her.

'Whatever.' Elliott muttered, deciding just to leave on her school skirt and sneakers. 'Don't wait up, okay?'

She left the dorm without waiting for an answer or a goodbye from Beatrice and wondered where the best place would be to look for Jimmy Hopkins. She guessed the Boy's Dorm would be a good a place as any and headed down the stairs.


	8. Last Chance To Make A Bad Impression

**Chapter VIII:**

"**Last Chance To Make A Bad Impression"**

Elliott paused at the start of the walkway that led to the Boy's Dorm. It looked like complete chaos. She could hear yelling and shouting, some kids pleading to be left alone with others laughed maliciously. Something smashed. A Prefect yelled out for someone to stop. Compared to the quiet of the Girl's Dorm behind her, the Boy's Dorm sounded like a war zone. Since starting Bullworth one thing that had confused her was that, even though there were considerably more boys on the premises, the Girl's Dorm was a lot larger. She wondered how on Earth all the boys (minus the Preppies of course) managed to fit in there.

Sucking in a deep breath she started down the walkway, arms wrapped around herself. The first person to spot her advance was the bully Trent, who was leaning against the wall with a cigarette. He quickly stamped it out and skipped towards her, grinning mischievously.

'I know you'd come to your senses eventually,' he grinned. 'As soon as you saw me in the cafeteria earlier, I just knew you'd come looking for me. I know a great spot by the car park...'

'In your dreams, Acne.' Elliott muttered, passing right by.

'Come on, I know we got off on the wrong foot, me mentioning your calves and everything…'

'There's nothing wrong with my calves!' she insisted. 'Just scram, will you?'

Trent only grinned and draped an arm over her shoulders. 'Wanna play shirts and skins?'

Elliott stopped in her tracks and glared at him. He moved away, still grinning.

'Okay, okay, you need more time. I understand. But seriously, when you're ready…' He winked and grinned, and then headed away.

Elliott glared after him for a moment before continuing – now with more care. As she watched an overweight and wheezy nerd run by whilst being chased by a broad shouldered guy in a leather jacket she wondered if she was doing the right thing by coming here. Maybe she should wait to try the Boy's Dorm as a last resort, along with the football field and prison. Smoothly, she turned and began her retreat, but she didn't get far.

'Hey there.'

The guy in front of her was huge – not fat of course, it was all muscle. His arms and shoulders were rock solid beneath his Bullworth jacket. He was smiling broadly at her, showing straight perfect teeth. It didn't take her long to realise that this was the infamous Ted Thompson; the bastard who had gotten her into this whole mess in the first place.

'Looking for someone?' he grinned sleazily, leaning against the bin beside him.

'Actually,' Elliot sighed, crossing her arms. 'I'm looking for Jimmy Hopkins. You seen him?'

Ted mocked thought and glanced upwards. 'Hopkins… Oh yeah. That short angry kid? Been hanging out with the nerds and the preppies? Beat that crap out of Russell? Oh yeah, I know who Hopkins is.'

'I didn't ask if you knew him.' Elliott replied.

'Tell you what,' Ted grinned, moving a little closer. 'How about we go somewhere and get to know each other? Because I'd rather know you than that ugly little loser Hopkins.'

Elliott cocked an eyebrow. 'Oh, hang on… I'm sorry but just bear with me a moment while I run through what happens now… You attempt a few more cheesy chat-up lines that only a deaf girl would fall for, then I come with you probably to somewhere obvious like the football field, where we both then go on to do the nasty probably resulting in a few telltale grass stains just so you can tell the whole school how easy I was and give Mandy more fuel for her bitch fire?'

Ted just continued to grin. 'Sounds fun, right? So whaddya say?'

Elliott stared at him for a moment. 'I don't think I can think of anything to say. Wow, that's a first for me.'

Ted shifted to a more comfortable position, still with that sleazy grin on his face. 'Come on, I'm the quarterback! All the girls want to get with me and I'm actually making you an offer. So how about it, new girl? Want to play ball?'

Elliott laughed and shook her head. 'Sorry champ, I'm going to have to take a rain check.' She moved past him, still chuckling.

Ted's smile turned into a bemused frown. 'Huh? You're blowing me out?'

'Like the candles on my birthday cake.' Elliott replied, heading away.

Ted puffed up angrily. 'Mandy's right, you _are_ a freak! A big raging lesbo! You just wait, freak, Mandy's gonna bring you down with a _bang_!'

Elliott quickened her pace, gritting her teeth. Well this was just wonderful, on her search for someone to help solve her problems she had managed to make them worse. She turned the corner blindly, just wanting to get as far away from Ted Thompson as possible. She bumped into a Prefect who just snarled at her to watch where she was going, and so she broke into a run and sprinted through the gates of Bullworth Academy.

When she finally stopped running she was badly out of breath. Also she was standing on wet stand. She looked up and rested her hands on her knees, and looked out across the water. It was quite a beautiful sight really; it was a little after dark so the lights were on in the carnival and they reflected prettily on the surface of the water. The lapping of the waves drowned out the sounds of the town, but the faint racket of car horns and people talking still reached her. After everything she can gone through today, this was a welcomed break.

When she had caught her breath she walked along the beach towards the jetty, and the sat beneath it against a wooden beam. The air was cool and refreshing, helping her to calm down and relax.

Maybe she was getting too worked up about this. After all, it was only school. Only another year. All she had to do was do her work and keep her nose clean and keep out of the way of the jocks and everything would probably work out just fine. A few years from now she would look back and laugh at the whole thing. So what if the other kids were calling her names? Did it make her any different from anyone else here? Everyone had a nickname, and some kids were having a hell of a worse time than her. Just today she had seen about six kids stuffed into rubbish bins, a group of nerds stink bombed, that kid with the unzipped pants getting his head flushed down the toilet and a little kid getting beat on by that blonde spotty bully. She should be grateful that the worse thing to happen to her was to be tripped up on the football field.

Oh, and making a mysterious pact with a kid who had a reputation of torturing people.

She had forgotten about that little deal with Gary Smith. She didn't trust him and she was beginning to realise that she didn't want to know what he had planned at all. He had said he would be in touch, which probably meant he would pop up when she least expected it. She wished she had asked Jimmy Hopkins for his help when she had the chance.

'Look what got washed up! It's some dillweed!'

Elliott closed her eyes at that smooth, sarcastic voice. 'You turn up like shit on my shoe, you know that Gary?' She opened her eyes and looked up to see him hanging over the side of the jetty, grinning lopsidedly at her. He seemed more animated than usual, eyes wider and brighter. 'What do you want?'

'What's the matter, you come down the beach to have a little cry? No one likes you? Oh boo-_hoo_.' He grinned again maliciously. 'I'm starting to think that you and Petey are soul mates, you can sit under the jetty and cry together about your sad, pathetic little lives.'

Elliott got to her feet and looked up at him, putting her hands on her hips. 'Look, what game are you playing? One minute you're throwing pebbles at me, the next your offering me your help and then your giving me tongue lashings.'

Gary's grin widened.

'You _dare_ tell me you can give me a good tongue lashing and I'll seriously hurt you.' She growled.

Gary smirked and then disappeared from the edge. Elliott listened to the sounds of his feet on the boardwalk and waited for him to make it down to the beach. He did eventually and walked towards her, stopping to hold onto the wooden support beam with one arm and swinging around it.

'So how's your second day been?' he asked. 'I heard you got a nice big mouthful of the football field earlier. How did that taste? Bitter, I bet.'

'I can't be bothered with you,' Elliott sighed. 'I'm really sick of all this…'

Gary threw up his hands. 'Oh I'm having such a terrible time!' he mocked. 'Everyone hates me! Those nasty girls are calling me names! Everyone's so mean and my calves are really, _really_ huge!' He allowed his arms to drop by his sides and looked sideways at her. 'Really, Elle, you sound like a broken record.'

Elliott turned away from him, arms folded. 'Screw off. I don't want any of your stupid help. Go and torture a rat or something.'

'Already did that today,' Gary replied, wiping his hands on his slacks. He walked up behind her, detouring around the wooden beam she leaned on so he would appear before her. 'You should try it. It lets out the crazy.'

'You'd have to torture an elephant to let out your crazy.' She told him, refusing to move despite the face he was getting quite close and intimidating.

'I hear you're looking for Jimmy Hopkins,' he said after a moment. 'May I ask _why_ you're looking for that demented little psychopath? You do know what he said about your mother and those farmyard animals, don't you?'

Elliott narrowed one eye. 'What did he say?'

'And you don't want to _know_ what he said about your biceps.' Gary went on, swinging idly on the wooden beam.

Elliott's hands went to her biceps. 'My _biceps_? I thought it was my calves everyone was interested in?'

'He said you're so muscley from all those seniors you pumped at your old school while you were off your face on speed and all that nasty crap.'

Elliott flushed red. 'You're a liar.' She accused.

Gary laughed in disbelief. '_Liar_? Really? Elle, Elle, Elle… I'm disappointed. I thought we had an understanding here. I really thought that we were on the same level. I don't _lie_, Elle, and I don't like _liars_.'

She studied his face, trying to see if she could fathom out his true intent. All she could see was that he was incredibly unstable and she was just as insane as him to be standing here with him like this. 'How do I know I can trust you?' she asked warily.

Gary chuckled and moved away, arms swinging by his sides. 'We don't need to _trust_ each other, Elle!' he replied. He lifted his arms up and grinned. 'I don't trust _anyone_. The thing we have is an _understanding_.' He approached her again, signalling between her and himself. 'You have goals and I have goals. My goals are probably a lot more intricate than yours but…' He shrugged. 'My point is that we can _help_ each other. We don't have to trust each other. Who needs trust anyway?'

'Well I'd like to know you're not going to turn around and push me off a cliff as soon as my back is turned.' Elliott replied.

Gary rolled his eyes. 'I think the thing we have to worry about is keeping you away from naked flames.'

Elliott sighed. 'I hope you're getting to a point because it's getting late…'

'You've got photography tomorrow afternoon, right?'

'Yeah.'

'Good. Instead of going on whatever menial assignment Ms Phillips sends you on, get your camera and go to the equipment house just off the football field.'

Elliott shook her head. 'I don't think so…'

Gary moved towards her quickly, making her flinch but not giving her enough time to back away properly. 'You _will_ come, you want to know why? Because you know we have an understanding. Great minds think alike, my friend, and you know as well as I that the only way we can get what we want is through force. You understand?'

Elliott eyed him and then slowly nodded. He straightened up.

'Good.' He nodded. 'Well, see you tomorrow, Post-Op. Get some sleep, you'll need it.'

He headed off with his hands in his pockets, kicking the sand up in little clouds. Elliott watched after him thoughtfully, and then sat back down. Unbeknown to her, Christy had been on the jetty listening to everything.


	9. Bullhorns Score

**A/N: Thank for the reviews again you awesome little anteaters :D Two updates tonight (which makes three today - I know, I need to do something else with my time :P) So enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter IX:**

"**Bullhorns Score"**

'Um… Elliott? Can you pass me that pencil?'

Elliott was too deep in her thoughts to hear Beatrice's request. She continued to stare down at the desk, squeezing the pencil in her fist. She was wondering what Gary had in store at the equipment shed and if she should even _go_ there. It couldn't be anything good…

'Elliott? Earth to Elliott?'

Elliott screwed up her nose a little. Yeah, she would accept help from that medicated little sociopath and end up with the same reputation as him. People would think she was so nuts they wouldn't dare bother with her. Which could work in her advantage she supposed, it would mean that she would have some peace and quiet…

Beatrice nudged her. 'Elliott?'

She jumped, snapped out of her thoughts and in the process managed to snap the pencil. She blinked at Beatrice, who was looking a little wary. 'Huh?'

Beatrice glanced at the broken pencil and then shook her head. 'Y'know, it doesn't matter. I have like, a hundred more of those.'

Elliott looked down at the broken pencil in her hand. It had cracked neatly between Beatrice's first and last name, which was embossed neatly in gold on the side. Still a little disorientated from her thoughts, Elliott just dropped the remains onto the desk and sat back.

'Bea?' she said, frowning slightly.

Beatrice glanced around warily to see if Ms Phillips had noticed them talking, but she was too busy gushing over some bully's photograph of Bucky being stuffed into a rubbish bin. Apparently it was a brilliant representation of how everyone is so insignificant…

'Hmm?' Beatrice replied quietly, satisfied that she wasn't going to be pulled up for disrupting.

'Have you ever been in the situation when you want something really, _really_ badly but you know that the only way you can get it is by ignoring all your gut instincts meaning everything will probably blow up in your face and make everything a million times worse?'

Beatrice pondered this for a moment. 'Well, there _was_ that time that I wanted to take off the plastic cover from one of the library books because it kept making the book flip shut but I knew if I did that it would never go back on again and in this place it would be destroyed within a few _hours_…'

Elliott frowned vaguely. 'Forget it, Bea.' She sighed. 'It doesn't matter.' She leaned forward, picked up one of the broken pieces of paper and began doodling glumly on the already heavy vandalised desk.

Beatrice regarded her for a moment, and then leaned forward. 'Didn't you find Jimmy last night?'

Elliott shot her an annoyed look. 'After what he's been saying about me? He's nearly as bad as Mandy.'

'What was he saying?'

'It's not important. At least to you it's not. It's okay, Bea just forget it. I've kind of already got someone who can help me. At least I think so…'

'I really hope it's not Gary Smith.' Beatrice whispered worriedly.

Elliott glanced to her without moving her head. 'Who?' she lied, not wanting to let on that it was him.

Beatrice nodded. 'That sociopath with the eye scar. Seriously Elliott, you keep away from him. Pinky said she saw you both hanging out outside the school and she says the two of you went to torture a hobo on the beach last night. I'm sorry, Elliott, but if you're like him then…' She puffed herself up a little but still looked terrified of what she was saying. 'Then I'm afraid that we won't be able to be friends anymore.'

Elliott had sat up a little and was looking directly at Beatrice silently. Beatrice started to get fidgety and nervous.

'Well… y'know…' she stammered. 'We _can_ still be friends if you want… just I wouldn't really want to _hang out_, if you know what I mean…'

'So you think I shouldn't go?' Elliott asked.

'What?'

'Gary said he would help me sort Mandy out. Do you think I shouldn't go?'

Beatrice snorted loudly with laughter, attracting curious glances from some of the surrounding students. She blushed and lowered her head and her voice. 'There's a few things you need to know about Gary Smith,' she told Elliott quietly. 'If he's offering to do something for you then you _know_ it's because you've got something _he_ wants. He never does anything just because it's _nice_. He's not a nice person at all. If you accept his help there's no knowing what he might want you to do in return. It's not worth it, Elliott. Trust me.'

Elliott looked down at her hands. 'So… I shouldn't go?'

'No, you shouldn't.' Beatrice told her.

Elliott nodded. 'Right. Thanks Bea.'

Beatrice nodded and straightened up, clearing her throat. 'Um, do you think you could use my proper name…?'

Elliott ignored her. 'You haven't got another pencil I could use, have you?'

Beatrice managed a smile before going to fetch another pencil, and Elliott drifted off into deep thought again.

* * *

Elliott stood by the large statue of a bull-headed figure with a football and fidgeted with the camera in her hands. Ms Phillips had sent them out to take photographs of flags, but she hadn't bothered. She had come straight to this spot and stared down the steps into Jock territory, trying to decide whether to take Beatrice's advice and steer clear or go down and see what Gary had done for her.

Elliott had been born with a problem of being far too curious. Once it was roused then that was it really, all rational thought went out of the window. If she didn't find out what something was then it was likely to bug her for the rest of her life. If she turned and walked away now without finding out what was waiting for her inside that equipment shed… well, she would probably go mad thinking about it. She felt herself moving forward, her feet taking control of the situation. She was already down the steps by the basketball court when her brain decided to step in and tell her that this was a really, really stupid idea.

Too late, she was already on her way.

She moved quickly with her head down, managing to go unnoticed past a pack of Jocks who were too busy hurling a huge leather football at each other. She reached the top of the bleachers and ducked behind a tree, peering down onto the massive football field.

She spotted Mandy almost immediately. She was storming along the sidelines, arms rigid by her sides and yelling for Ted. She stopped and asked the odd person if they had seen him but they all just shrugged. Elliott bit her lip thoughtfully. She hoped Ted's absence didn't have anything to do with Gary…

She headed along the bleachers and climbed down them, avoiding passing Mandy and the others completely. She dropped down onto the field, glanced around to see if she had been spotted, and then ran up towards the equipment shed.

Inside it smelled musky and of old, stale sweat. Elliott screwed up her nose against it as she closed the door behind her. The light was off and most of the windows were blocked with old gym mats and large exercise equipment. There were so many places for someone to hide… Was she really this stupid? Gary was probably lurking in here somewhere, just waiting to jump out at her. He certainly hadn't given her any reason to trust him – he had even said himself that they didn't _need_ trust. She paused thoughtfully, hand on the doorknob to leave again.

That was when she heard a strange noise from behind the gym mats. She listened hard, and then realised that it was snoring. Gripping her camera tightly, Elliot moved forward, peering around the mat.

What she saw stunned her. She stood and gaped at the two naked bodies on the floor, eyes practically bulging. She recognised both of them immediately and in that moment she decided that she didn't give a damn what anyone thought about Gary, she owed him big time for this. She had to stifle a belly laugh in case her hysterics woke either of them up, and quickly raised her camera.

The boy in front was unmistakably Algie, wearing nothing but his suspiciously stained pants. His glasses were wonky on his face from where he was laying and he snored deeply, thumb half in his mouth. Draped over his fat waist was Ted Thompson's arm. He lay behind him – spooning, Elliott thought was the correct term. From the angle she was at it didn't look like Ted was wearing any pants at all.

It was all too much. Elliott turned away, hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. If she started laughing she wouldn't be able to stop. This was just _brilliant_. Gary was a _genius_. She turned, camera ready, and snapped twelve photos, making sure she had every detail. When she was satisfied she had enough evidence she began to back away, chuckling. She stepped on something that cracked under her foot and she glanced down, lifting her shoe to see an orange tube. She picked it up and turned it over, reading the label. Sedatives. Elliott chuckled and tucked the crushed bottle in her pocket.

This was brilliant. Probably not so brilliant for Algie when he woke up but, well, sacrifices had to be made. When Mandy saw these pictures… Elliott just hoped she was there to see her face.

* * *

'You seem happy.' Beatrice commented, watching Elliott warily.

Elliott grinned as she straightened out the cover on her bed. 'Do I? Makes a change, doesn't it?'

Beatrice continued to watch her, frowning slightly. She clutched a heavy physics textbook to her chest, ready to leave for the library. She just didn't want to leave while Elliott was being so uncharacteristically happy. 'Where did you go during photography?' she asked. 'I thought we were going to take pictures together.'

'Oh I had to go and do something.' Elliott replied. 'Ms Phillips said it's okay if I take the pictures next time.'

'So you didn't take any?' Beatrice queried.

'Nope.' Elliott replied, pausing to check her reflection in the small mirror by her bed.

'But your film was full when you got back.'

'It was? You sure?'

Beatrice regarded her for a long moment. 'You know, Elliott, I can't help but think that you uh… you might not have taken my advice…'

Elliott just glanced at her, smirking. 'You seen Algie today at all?'

Beatrice blinked. 'Um… actually, I haven't…'

Elliott laughed. 'Poor guy.' She mumbled.

'Where did you go during photography, Elliott?' Beatrice asked again. 'Please, I don't want you to get into any kind of trouble…'

'Don't worry about it, it's over.' Elliott told her with a smile. 'Just go to the library. I'll see you tonight, okay?'

'I'll see you in English, won't I?'

Elliott shrugged. 'Oh yeah… yeah English, right.' She was already distracted by something in the top drawer of her desk. Beatrice half nodded, not wanting to leave her in this peculiar mood but having no choice. She headed out of the room after a failed attempt at a wave. On her way out she bumped into Christy.

'Watch where you're going.' Christy spat.

Beatrice muttered an apology and then hurried away. Christy stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Elliott glanced around, her smile abruptly disappearing.

Christy folded her arms and looked around the room. 'You've made it okay in here, even though you're sharing a room with a nerd.'

'Beatrice is okay.' Elliott told her. 'Probably the only decent person around here, actually.'

Christy sighed and sat on the edge of the spare bed by the door. 'I know what you probably think of me. You think I'm a bitch like Mandy.'

Elliott shrugged. 'Well… yeah actually. I do.'

Christy pushed some of her hair from her face and leaned back. 'Well I'm not.' She sighed. 'If I was then I would have told Mandy that you were plotting some horrible scheme with Gary Smith last night on the beach.'

Elliott froze, eyeing her. 'Did you hear that from Pinky?' she asked, recalling what Beatrice told her about Pinky saying her and Gary were torturing hobos.

'Pinky?' Christy chuckled. 'Why would she know anything about it? She was being yucky and inbred with her cousin… No, I was there actually. On my way to meet Kirby at the Carnival. I saw that little psycho hanging over the side of the boardwalk and… well, I had to see what he was up to. I have to admit I was surprised to see you there. I never pegged you for being into crazy guys.'

Elliott crossed her arms over her chest. 'I'm not _into_ him. We were just… discussing something.'

'Scheming, more like.' Christy smirked. 'After hearing Gary telling you to check out the equipment shed I just had to go and have a look for myself. Brilliant. Really brilliant. Algie of all the people… The thing is…' She stood up and approached Elliott, mocking thought. 'If you tarnish Ted's image, Mandy's likely to go down with him – but I guess that was your intention, right?'

Elliott said nothing.

'I'll take that as a yes.' Christy nodded. 'Okay, I'm going to be square with you, Post- I mean _Elliott_, I don't like Mandy either. In fact I pretty much despise the skinny little bitch. The only reason I'm nice to her is because I want to stay on the cheerleading team so I can keep on seeing Kirby. She keeps puking in the bathroom and that's, well it's gross, especially when other people have to use it too, y'know? Anyway, what I'm getting at is that if Mandy somehow ended up being dropped from the cheerleading team, _I_ would be promoted to head cheerleader.'

Elliott frowned. 'So you want her off the team. In other words, you want to help me.' She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. 'Oh that's just great.' She muttered.

Christy just grinned, eyes sparkling. 'I want to be at the top. I'm sick of just being another non-clique student. As long as Mandy's on the team I'll never be anything but that.'

Elliott turned away, shaking her head. 'How do I know you're not just trying to get the photos for Mandy?'

The other girl laughed. 'So you _did_ take pictures! Oh great! I love that. This is going to be so awesome.'

Elliott cursed her self for allowing that information slip out. She sighed and leaned on the bed frame. 'Look, I appreciate that you want to destroy Mandy's life too, but I don't need any help. I've pretty much got in covered, thanks.'

'No, you haven't.' Christy told her. 'You've got _photos_. They're nothing, unless you just want to do some blackmailing. I'm talking all out _humiliation_. Like on billboards and stuff. To do something that big you're going to need some help.'

Elliott mused over it for a moment. 'Okay. I'm listening.'

Christy grinned. 'Great. Look, I've got to go meet Kirby for lunch but we can talk more later, yeah? Not here of course, we don't want anyone overhearing.'

Elliott nodded and drew her eyebrows together. 'Yeah, seems like that happens a lot around here.' She commented flatly.

Christy nodded and headed for the door. 'Well, see ya later, Elliott. I'm looking forward to our chat.'

Elliott sat down heavily on the bed, her good mood now nothing but a memory. This was just going to be complicated with Christy involved. She breathed heavily out of her nostrils. 'Shit.' She muttered, and fell back on the bed.


	10. Guilt Tripping

**Chapter X:**

"**Guilt Tripping"**

Elliott ran through the doors of Bullworth Academy, almost knocking over a little blonde girl as she went. The little girl squealed something profane after her but she ignored it and continued towards the stairs. Her alarm hadn't gone off and she had only realised the time when the bell to signify first class rang in the Girl's Dorm. She had been surprised that Beatrice hadn't woken her up, usually she would be urging Elliott to go as quick as possible so they wouldn't get in trouble from Mrs Peabody.

Elliott stumbled up the first couple of stairs and dropped her sketchbook. With a curse she set about gathering them up. She knew Ms Philips wouldn't be bothered at her tardiness, but if the Prefects caught her…

'Class is cancelled.'

Elliott glanced up to see Mandy Wiles standing over her. She bent down and helped Elliott gather up the rest of her spilled notes. Elliott watched her warily but said nothing.

'Ms Philips had to go and take Mr Galloway home,' the cheerleader explained. 'Apparently he had one too many cups of _tea_ this morning.'

The two of them stood up and Mandy handed Elliott her papers. The two of them stood eyeing each other warily for a moment.

'Right,' Elliott nodded finally. 'That's a good job really, I thought I was going to be late.'

Mandy glanced around and sighed. She didn't look like her usual self; her self-important pout was missing and she just looked downright miserable. 'Do you think we could go somewhere and… y'know… talk?'

Elliott narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 'You're not luring me somewhere to make a complete ass out of me, are you?'

Mandy rolled her eyes and took her arm. 'Quit being paranoid. Just come on before someone sees me being nice to you.'

Elliott allowed Mandy to lead her back down the stairs and down one of the corridors to the left. They entered the girl's toilets, both grimacing at the strong smell of bleach. Eunice was the only person in there, and glanced up sharply at their entrance.

'Beat it, Stay-Puff.' Mandy spat, and Eunice obediently left.

'So what's this about then?' Elliott asked, resting a hand on her hip. 'Because if you've brought me here to try and swirly me I'll snap you like a twig.'

Mandy sighed and rolled her eyes. 'I don't _hate_ you.' She admitted.

Elliott blinked. 'What?'

'It's just… I'm the prettiest and the best. I need to make sure no one is going to replace me. I needed to make sure you weren't going to come swanning into this school and have everyone love you. I can't afford to be replaced, not by anyone.' Mandy shifted on her feet, proving that what she was saying was making her feel very uncomfortable. 'I know it's horrible but… well, the only way I can regain my crown is by fending off the competition before it even realises that it is competition. I hope you can understand that.'

Elliott felt a bit overwhelmed. 'Oh… well, yeah I do.'

Mandy sighed and leaned against the bathroom sinks. 'I know you had something to do with Ted and that nerd waking up in the equipment shed. Lucky for you Ted has no idea who's behind it so he just pounded on Pee Stain for a few hours to make himself feel better.'

Elliott felt a pang of guilt. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Oh come on,' Mandy frowned. 'I'm not stupid. I respect you for having the balls to get back at me instead of just putting up with it like everyone else. And you've proven your point, I'll lay off. But I will have to insult you every now and then, just so no one thinks I've gone soft.'

Elliott nodded. 'Sounds okay.'

Mandy straightened up and brushed the front of her uniform with both hands. 'Okay then. This neutral ground between us is only for as long as you agree to keep it that way, okay? If you do anything else to try to humiliate me or Ted and it'll be war, understand?'

Elliott nodded, but her mind went back to the photographs in her desk. 'Okay. Deal.'

Mandy smiled. 'Good. Y'know, it is a shame we can't be friends. But everyone thinks I hate you so… well, sorry.'

'Don't worry about it. It's cool.'

'Right, well see you around then, Elle.' Mandy said as she headed for the door. 'And, oh I dunno, maybe if one day there's no one around we could have lunch together or something.'

Elliott watched her disappear out of the bathroom and frowned thoughtfully. So was that a surrender on both their parts? Sure sounded like it. Well if that was the case she didn't need those photographs at all. Just as well really, she hadn't been looking forward to humiliating that poor Algie kid. Sounded like he had it bad enough as it was. Feeling content, Elliott decided to head back to the dorms and see if Beatrice was about. Her newfound good mood made her completely forget about Christy's plans.

* * *

For once she was actually smiling when she walked into her dorm room. Beatrice was at her desk, working hard as usual. Elliott tossed her sketchbook on her bed and moved towards her.

'Hey, Bea. All my classes for today are cancelled so do you want to-'

'How _could_ you?' Beatrice cried, shooting up out of her seat and whirling around to face her. 'How could you do such a… a terrible thing?'

Elliott stared at her with wide eyes, shocked by her outburst. 'I um… what?'

Beatrice was practically shaking with rage, but it was obvious by her awkward, jerky movements that she didn't get this worked up very often. 'You… I thought you were my _friend_!'

Elliott raised her hands. 'Whoa, now just hold on there a minute. What have I done?'

'See? You don't even know you've done anything wrong! I knew there was something strange about you! You're as much of a sociopath as him!'

Elliott wracked her brain for something she may have done to anger Beatrice, but she was coming up with nothing. 'Seriously, Bea, just tell-'

'And stop calling me Bea!' Beatrice screeched. 'My name is _Beatrice_!'

Elliott was stunned to silence. She blinked a couple of times, trying to understand this sudden outburst. She searched for some comforting words but could only scrape up a bemused shrug.

'Algernon!' Beatrice cried.

Elliott shrugged again.

Beatrice rolled her eyes. 'Algie!'

'Oh!' Elliott nodded, then her voice dropped in realisation. '_Oh_. Um… well that whole thing didn't really have anything to do with…'

'Yes, it did!' Beatrice cried. 'I _told_ you not to get involved with that psycho but you did it anyway! And now _my_ friend is suffering for it! Do you know how many times he got kicked in the… in his nether-regions by Ted Thompson this morning?'

Elliott scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably. 'Oh come on, it's not like that was exactly what I asked Gary to do! How was I meant to know?'

'You could have told him you didn't want his help!' Beatrice insisted. 'You could have told him to go away! But now Algie is having a worse time than ever and it's all your fault.'

Elliott frowned, not wanting to feel bad but unable to help it. It _was_ her fault, as much as she didn't want it to be. 'It can't be much worse than the grief he normally gets…' she started.

'Stop trying to make yourself feel better.' Beatrice scowled. 'And for your information I've requested to be moved rooms so you can sit in here and be miserable and vindictive all on your own.'

Elliott glanced around and realised for the first time that all of Beatrice's things were missing. 'Bea I… I mean Beatrice, come on! Don't be hasty! It was just a mistake, I didn't know that was going to happen.'

Beatrice stormed towards the door, cheeks flushed. 'You can't even apologise. I wouldn't want to be friends with someone like you anyway, Elliott Nixon.' She stopped at the door and frowned at her. 'And don't worry, now that people know what kind of person you are they won't bother you any more.'

'Beatrice, please-'

But Beatrice left, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Elliott didn't like feeling guilty, so she managed to be angry at Beatrice for shouting at her the way she did. It did feel better to blame someone else for everything for a while, but as night rolled in and the longer Elliott sat on her own in that dingy dorm room she realised that she had done a terrible thing. Beatrice had been the only person in the whole school who had spoken to her civilly and treated her like a friend, and she had thrown it all back in her face by dragging Algie into the whole situation. It probably could all be solved with a heartfelt apology, but Elliott wasn't an apologetic person, and she certainly wasn't heartfelt. So she remained on her bed, silent and sulky, and hoped Beatrice would return to make the first move. Beatrice didn't.

Sighing heavily, Elliott swung her legs off her bed and reached to the bottom drawer of her desk. She pulled it open, deciding that it would probably be a good idea to get rid of the photographs before more trouble sprung out from them. Mandy had backed off and really that was all she had wanted. The photographs might have been good to keep in case she forgot their agreement, but it was probably safer to just destroy them and forget about the whole thing…

Elliott frowned at the empty drawer. She could have sworn she put them in there, underneath the fake bottom….

Panic set in quickly and she dropped onto her knees in front of the desk, pulling out the drawers and tipping them out. Pencils and bits of paper scattered the floor, but there were no photographs. They were gone.

'Shit…' Elliott muttered, standing up and grabbing handfuls of her hair. '_Shit_!'

Who else knew about the photographs? Gary probably, but there was no way he could have gotten up here without being spotted by the other girls. And why would he want them anyway? Beatrice didn't know about them… or perhaps she found them and that was why she was so angry? If Beatrice had them then that would be okay because there was no way she would let anyone see them. There was no one else, no one could possibly know…

Christy.

'Shit.' Elliott muttered for the third time.

Of course it was Christy! How could she have forgotten? And if Christy had them…

Elliott raced for the door, tripping over her feet but managing to catch herself. She burst out into the corridor and nearly slammed right into Pinky. Pinky let out a short squeal at her sudden arrival and raised her hands in surprise. Elliott grabbed her by the arms.

'Where's Christy?' she demanded.

'Let go of me you pauper!' Pinky snapped, pulling her arms from her. 'This is Aquaberry. _Aqua-berry_. If there's a single mark on it I'll-'

Elliott waved an impatient hand at her and continued down the corridor, sticking her head in every room to see if she could see Christy. No sign of her anywhere. In fact, there didn't seem to be many people around at all. She ran down the stairs and as she reached the bottom she could already hear someone laughing. Then following it was the unmistakable snobbish guffawing of the Preppies. Elliott felt her stomach knot, but she ran outside anyway.

It was only when she got outside and felt the cold concrete that she realised she wasn't wearing any shoes. She stepped down three steps, but all her motor functions had ceased at the sight before her. She stood there, jaw hanging open and arms limp by her sides.

Christy was handing out flyers to the huge crowd of students around her. There was a mixture of everyone; Bullies, Greasers, Preppies, Nerds… they all stood around in groups gawping at the fliers. Two little kids were standing at the bottom of the steps, pointing at something above Elliott and giggling hysterically. For a moment Elliott thought they were laughing at her, but then she allowed herself to turn and look at the building.

Hanging up on the front of the Girl's Dorm, spanning about half the building, was a giant picture of Ted Thompson and Algernon Papadopoulos spooning in their underwear. Beneath it in huge, black letters, it said _Bullhorns Score!_

Elliott stared up at it, feeling numb all over, and then murmured, 'Shit.'


	11. Out Of The Frying Pan

**A/N: **Okay, ignore the last chapter that was here, I introduced the Preps too early. I guess I just got excited at the idea of Tad Spencer and his webbed toes XD (only one foot, I know) but that will come... so basically I've revealed a future storyline there, oh well lol. But there's still more Jock action to be had and the nerds need adressing, so we'll get there eventually :P

* * *

**Chapter XI:**

**"Out Of The Kettle And Into The Frying Pan"**

Christy had been quick to do a disappearing act when Elliott had appeared outside the Girl's Dorm. She probably could have caught her quickly if it weren't for the swarms of students blocking her path. Various people kept offering her flyers, which were unsurprisingly copies of the photographs, but she slapped them out of their hands viciously. She was furious. How dare that little cow just raid her desk like that? It was _robbery_! Fair enough she robbed something Elliott shouldn't have even had in the first place but… still.

Elliott shoved past a little kid angrily and stormed along the walkway, still just in her socks. It was beginning to rain lightly, and thunder rolled somewhere in the distance but she didn't even notice, she was just too angry. She paused at the junction in the path, looking around for any signs of the scheming little redhead, but only saw a pair of Prefects running towards the Girl's Dorm, supposedly to try and disperse everyone there. She jogged towards the main building, scanning the area carefully.

'Look, don't be mad.'

Elliott whirled around, teeth already bared, to see Christy leaning against the wall with an armful of flyers and looking quite nervous. 'Don't be _mad_?' she cried. 'Oh I'm not mad. I'm _furious_!'

She stormed towards her, ignoring the other girl's pathetic squeal. 'Wait! Please! Look, I knew you wouldn't go through with it so I had to take matters into my own hands!'

Elliott grabbed her by her collar, causing the remaining photograph copies to flutter to the ground. 'Well how about you take this into your own hands?' She lifted a fist.

'No! _No_!' Christy squealed. 'I'm sorry! I just thought it would be _fun_!'

Elliott breathed heavily out of her nostrils and lowered her fist. She moved away, massaging her forehead with her temples. 'I don't believe this…' she muttered, and then closed her yes and chanted, 'This is not happening, this is not happening…'

'Oh man!' a voice floated over from the Girl's Dorm. 'I think Algie has a _boner_!'

Elliott pushed her fists into her eyes and cried out in frustration. 'How could you do this to me?' she yelled at Christy, advancing on her again.

The girl flinched, raising her hands in front of her. 'Please don't hit me!' she begged. 'It was just a _joke_! Ted will understand that it's just a joke… And anyway, he doesn't know that it has anything to do with you!'

'Well Mandy does!' Elliott snarled. 'And she was all ready to leave me alone! You know what this means now, don't you? You've made it a million times worse for me than it was in the first place! Now _all_ the jocks are going to be after me! And most probably the nerds as well because Beatrice knows this is my fault too! Do you…' She shuddered and released another involuntary cry of frustration. 'Do you have any idea what you've _done_?'

'What _I've_ done?' Christy shot back, still a little nervous. '_You_ were the one who took those photos! You were the one who made a deal with that psycho! I only used your situation to my advantage! If you didn't want anything like this to happen then you should never have taken the photographs in the first place, should you?'

Elliott opened her mouth to respond, but realised she had nothing to say. Instead she let out a third frustrated cry and shoved Christy against the wall.

'_Murder_!' Christy yelled shrilly in a panic.

'Oh screw you…' Elliott muttered, stalking back towards the Girl's Dorm. 'Thanks for ruining my life.'

She continued around to the Girl's Dorm, socks beginning to get soggy with the rain that was getting steadily heavier. She stopped at the walkway and glumly watched the Prefects and a couple of teachers frantically trying to gather up the flyers. Another two Prefects were trying to pull down the huge banner that spanned the front of the building, but had only achieved in pulling down half of it, still leaving the image of Ted and Algie's underpants and the word '_scores_' beneath.

Maybe Mandy wouldn't see it. It was wishful thinking, and probably incredibly unlikely, but at least a soothing thought. She basked in the possibility that everything might still work out okay. Maybe in the morning…

'You little _bitch_!' a shrill voice wailed from behind. 'You evil, scheming, vicious little _tramp_!'

Elliott turned around just a little too late and received quite a nasty slap to the right side of her face. It took her completely by surprise and she lost her balance, landing hard on her side on the cold, wet ground. She blinked, and then pushed herself up to see who had attacked her. Well, she already knew who it was.

'I can't believe you!' Mandy yelled. 'After what we said this morning! You had this planned all along, didn't you? Well good job, you sly little troll! You've made us look like morons! But it won't last long, you got me? We're going to make you pay. _No one _makes a fool out of me and Ted and gets away with it.' She leaned close, pointing one slender finger in Elliott's face. 'This is war, Post-Op.'

With that she turned and strode away, head held high, towards the Girl's Dorm. Elliott shifted around so she was kneeling on the floor and watched after her glumly. The rain began to come down heavily, but she remained where she was even when the other students ran off for cover.

* * *

The bell had rung about fifteen minutes ago, but Elliott still hid beneath her covers, eyes closed tight and hoping that Mrs Peabody wouldn't bother checking her room that morning. Hopefully she could just stay here forever. Okay, so there would be the eventual problem of dehydration or starvation, but it couldn't be any worse than what was waiting for her outside.

Anyway, despite her wishes, Mrs Peabody stormed into the room, marched to her bed and whipped off the blanket. Still fully dressed from yesterday, Elliott groaned and curled up into the foetal position.

'Get up, girl!' Mrs Peabody snarled. 'You're supposed to be in class!'

'I'm not going.' Elliott groaned. 'You can't make me.'

'Oh I can,' Mrs Peabody shot back. 'I'm not going to tolerate laziness on my watch. Get up and get dressed, or I'll dress you myself.'

Elliott grabbed blindly for the blanket, eyes still screwed up shut. 'Just leave me alone you crazy old bat.'

The next thing she knew she was being dragged up and out of bed. Mrs Peabody was stronger than she looked. She only had the chance to look completely bewildered as Mrs Peabody grabbed her jumper and began to pull it over her head.

'Hey!' she yelled, struggling with the teacher. 'Get off me! You can't just pull my clothes off!'

'I'll pull you into that washroom and scrub you myself if you don't get a move on!' Mrs Peabody warned. 'Now get dressed! I want you in class in ten minutes!'

'Right, okay…' Elliott muttered, pulling her shirt off herself and glaring bitterly at the old teacher. 'Just get out, will you? Give me some privacy.'

'Privacy…' Mrs Peabody muttered as she left. 'As if kids like you ever heard of _privacy_…'

Elliott glared at the door after Mrs Peabody had closed it and then sat heavily on the bed. Great, so her only real sanctuary was no good, unless she wanted to be forcibly stripped by Mrs Peabody every morning. Looked like she was going to have to go out there and face the music today. Hopefully she could avoid the Jocks. The Nerds she could deal with, after all they were weak and puny. The only damage that the Nerds could do was to her pride; after all no one likes being mocked by the most unpopular kids in school.

Elliott got dressed quickly and lazily, not bothering with her school shirt and just pulling on her sweater. She was still wearing her green pleated skirt, so she just pulled on her black boots and headed out into the corridor. Mrs Peabody glared at her as she passed and commented that she must dress like an ape, but didn't force her to get changed again.

The flyers had been cleaned up and the huge banner was gone, but the students would not have forgotten what they had seen last night. Thankfully there was no one in the immediate area; students or Prefects, so Elliott took the opportunity and headed into town.

* * *

'Hey, did you hear about that screwed up school?'

'What have they done now?'

'Apparently the quarterback got it on with some fat little pee stained kid.'

Elliott ignored the passing gossiping adults and tried to enjoy the rare peacefulness as she sat on the fence that separated the beach from the town, facing the water. She sucked absently on the straw in the milkshake she had bought from Yum-Yums, ignoring the fact that she should have been in Art about now. If she played truant often enough perhaps she could just get herself expelled or something.

Thankfully, or at least so far she had avoided any Jocks. There had been two of them hanging around outside of the bike shop earlier but they either didn't notice her or they didn't realise she was who she was because they left her alone. She didn't want to go back to that awful place because she just knew that it was going to be one hell of a shit storm. Maybe life on the lam would be good for her, keep her out of trouble. How hard could it be to avoid the police and school authorities for a year? Maybe if she shaved her head and wore huge sunglasses…

'Oh. It's you.'

Elliott glanced around, mid-sip, and peered over her shoulder at Beatrice. She removed the straw from her mouth and offered her a small smile. 'In all my glory.' She replied, hoping for a smile.

Instead, Beatrice turned and began to head away. Elliott quickly lifted her legs over the fence and hopped off onto the sidewalk. 'Wait, Beatrice! Come on!'

Beatrice stopped and turned around with a heavy sigh. She crossed her arms and looked at her impatiently. 'I told you, I've got no time for you.'

'Look, I'm sorry,' Elliott told her. 'I am, I'm really _really_ sorry. I never intended for all of this to go the way it has, and you've got to understand that I was going to get rid of those pictures. I wasn't going to use them, honest. It was Christy who got hold of them and stuck them up everywhere.'

Beatrice was still frowning, just not as much. 'Christy?' she asked after a moment. 'Really?'

Elliott nodded keenly. 'She took them out of my drawer. I wouldn't have done anything like that, no matter how much of a bitch Mandy was to me. I'd just been talking to her that morning and we made a deal to leave each other alone, so why the hell would I go and make all this trouble for myself?'

Beatrice considered this. 'Well… you do have a point…'

'So do you forgive me?'

'For the pictures, perhaps.' Beatrice replied thoughtfully. 'But you still went against all my advice and got Gary Smith involved. I still blame you for that.'

'Okay,' Elliott rubbed her head. 'Look, Beatrice, I think you're the only halfway sane girl at this school and I don't want to make enemies with you. I'm _sorry_. What can I do to make it up to you?'

'It's not me you need to make it up to.' Beatrice told her. 'It's Algie.'

Elliott winced. 'Algie?'

'Yes.' She considered something, and then narrowed one eye. 'You should go and see him at the library and apologise. You make it up to him and we'll be okay.'

Elliott winced again and shifted uncomfortably. 'Well… I _was_ just considering my options on going on the lam, and that kind of involves never going to Bullworth Academy ever again…'

Beatrice shrugged her skinny shoulders. 'Okay then. Bye.' She turned to leave, but Elliott grabbed her arm.

'Okay, okay. Fine I'm coming. Just… tell me if you see any Jocks heading our way, okay?'

Beatrice eyed her. 'I'll try.'

Elliott slumped at the response. Beatrice turned and jerked her head to signal her to follow and the two girls walked in silence through the town back to the school, with Elliott dragging her feet the whole way.


	12. The Lengths To Go For Forgiveness

**A/N: **Just incase anyone missed it, the last chapter was changed. Just to prevent confusion headaches :D

* * *

**Chapter XII:**

**"The Lengths To Go For Forgiveness"**

Elliott swung through the door of the library and dodged the airborne missile that followed her, using an agility she never knew she had. The water bomb exploded on the smooth wooden floor ahead of her, splashing a skinny nerd who squealed in horror and quickly fled back into the safety of the library. Elliott ducked behind a plant pot and peered around it breathlessly.

Beatrice walked through the doors calmly, only glancing once over her shoulder at the group of Jocks that had spotted them approaching the library before executing their barrage of anything that could be thrown. Beatrice had been totally unscathed as the Jocks had all been aiming at Elliott. She knew she was going to be covered in bruises from those dodge balls and (more painfully) basketballs that had bounced off her back.

'They're not coming in, are they?' Elliott breathed, wide eyed. She pushed her hair off her face, realising that it was all over the place. 'Jocks don't come in the library, do they?'

Beatrice just frowned vaguely at her. 'You look ridiculous behind that plant.' Then she continued on into the library with her chin lifted.

Elliott glanced around and noticed she was being watched by three Preps who were perched on a green couch. She blushed slightly and then rushed to catch up with Beatrice.

The library was quite empty, apart from the odd lonely kid sitting in the study area. Mrs Carvin sat behind the desk, stamping books like a rusty old robot. She didn't acknowledge Elliott or Beatrice as they passed.

'Algie won't care about me apologising.' Elliott muttered, glancing around. 'It's not going to change anything. He's still going to be tortured by the Jocks just as much as I am.'

Beatrice only shrugged her shoulders and led Elliott towards the stairs. 'You never know unless you give it a try.' She replied. Elliott muttered something about trying leading to failure and then followed her up the stairs.

She could smell Algie before she saw him, which should have given her some kind of heads up to what was coming. But perhaps it was because she had never expected the Nerds to be capable of this kind of brute mentality that she didn't prepare herself for what came next.

Something hard hit her on the back of the head, causing her to stumble forward in a daze. '_Ow_!' she cried. She whirled around and rubbed the back of her head, blinking to try and rid herself of the black spots that were threatening her vision. 'What the _hell_?'

'That's for making me look like I like boys, smelly head!' Algie yelled, eyebrows drawn together and podgy finger pointing right at her.

Elliott blinked at him in complete bewilderment, the blow to her head temporarily preventing her from thinking at all. She looked down at the book that had bounced off her skull and frowned as she tried to fathom out the word _Astrophysics._ She looked up again to see that three other Nerds had joined in the lynching, including a fat kid with red hair, a skinny goofy kid and another bloater with glasses and a pencil behind one ear.

'Hey, guys!' Beatrice cried, stepping in front of Elliott. 'What are you doing? Elliott didn't put those pictures up! She's come to apologise!'

Fatty waved at her to move angrily. 'Step aside, Beatrice! Revenge must be acquired.'

'Yes,' Melvin agreed. 'This is no place for a woman!'

'I'm a woman!' Elliott insisted, still rubbing her head.

'That's not what Mandy said.' Bucky shot at her.

Elliott groaned. 'You've got to be kidding me...'

'Everyone just calm down!' Beatrice commanded, voice getting slightly high. 'This is all just a big misunderstanding. Elliott wasn't the one who put all those pictures up, it was _Christy_.'

Algie's frown temporarily vanished. 'Christy? But why would Christy do something like that? I helped her with her math homework!'

'The enemy has brainwashed Beatrice!' Melvin cried. 'Get her before she does it to the whole school!'

'Melvin don't be such a jerk.' Beatrice sighed, slumping her shoulders.

Melvin floundered and then backed away, lowering his head. 'Sorry Beatrice.'

'Look, Elliott never wanted those pictures to go up,' Beatrice told them while Elliott lingered behind her, wary of anymore flying books. 'The only reason she had them in the first place was because she had gotten Gary Smith to help her stop Mandy picking on her.'

All the Nerds looked around at each other with a collective, '_Ah_,' of realisation. When they looked back at Elliott they didn't look quite so angry anymore.

'If I'd known Gary was involved I wouldn't have thrown that book at you.' Algie told Elliott, pushing his glasses up his nose. 'I'm sorry, I get unpredictable when I'm angry. My mom says I have a temper.'

Elliott nodded, eyes still wide and head still throbbing. 'Yeah, I saw.'

'She still shouldn't have taken the pictures,' Bucky pointed out. 'Why would she have took them if she didn't want anyone to see them?'

Elliott winced. 'Well to start off I… _might_ have intended to… _show_ them to a couple of people…'

The Nerds began to get riled up again, including Beatrice this time.

'But just to Mandy and the Jocks!' Elliott insisted quickly. 'I was _never_ going to show them on the scale Christy did! I mean, where the hell would I get a banner like that? I'm really, really sorry it got so out of hand, man. I didn't mean it.'

The Nerds began to calm down again. After some quiet deliberation between Algie, Fatty, Bucky and Melvin, they turned towards her again.

'Under these exceptional circumstances, I accept your apology.' Algie told her.

Elliott laughed with relief. 'Oh man, I don't know how I would have gone on if I'd been beaten up by a group of…' She stopped herself and then laughed awkwardly. 'I mean… thanks. Much appreciated.'

'On one condition,' Algie said grandly, again lifting that podgy finger. 'You have to do something for me.'

Elliott lifted her eyebrows. 'Seriously? What?'

'I left my math notes in Mr Hattrick's room.' Algie told her. 'And I need them to finish my homework. If you go in and get them for me I'll forgive you one hundred percent.'

Elliott winced. 'But if the Jocks catch me they'll beat the crap out of me!'

'Rather you than me, my friend.' Algie replied, smugly.

Elliott mused over her predicament for a moment. If she agreed she would be saved from the embarrassing ridicule of the Nerds, but would more than likely get the crap kicked out of her on her way into school. If she refused she would have made all the Nerds into enemies including Beatrice and would _still_ get the crap beaten out of her on her way into school.

'Okay,' she sighed heavily. 'I'll do it.'

Algie clapped happily. 'Great! I mean, uh… awesome. Mr Hattrick should still be in his room. If you're quick you can catch him before he locks the door.'

Elliott slumped visibly. 'Okay. And I'll meet you back here, yeah?'

Algie nodded. 'Yeah. And thanks, Elliott.'

Elliott trudged past him grimly. 'Yeah, right back at you.'

* * *

It was like some secret covert operation getting out of the library. The Jocks were waiting outside, directing threats and insults at the students that hurried past them but they didn't make any move on them. It was obvious they were waiting for her to come out.

There was no way she was going to get to the school without at least a minor concussion. She glanced around, deciding she needed some kind of disguise. She frowned deeply. Where the hell was she supposed to find a disguise in the library? Her eyes lit up as she saw Eunice Pound making her way towards the library.

'Score.' Elliott muttered, and hopped down from the window.

Eunice waddled through the door, breathing heavily through her mouth. Elliott seized her quickly, pulling her away from the doors before the Jocks could spot her.

'Eunice! You've got to help me.'

Eunice blinked at her. 'Oh hey, Elliott.' She replied in a deep, breathy voice. She held up a crumpled back filled with sticky, melted chocolates. 'You want one?'

Elliott grimaced. 'Uh, no thanks. Look, I need a favour. Can I borrow your shirt?'

Eunice looked at her for a moment, and then looked down at her shirt. 'Um… this is the only one I got on me…'

'It's okay, you can wear my sweater.' Elliott told her.

Eunice eyed her sweater that was obviously going to be very tight and uncomfortable on her, and then shook her head. 'I don't think so…'

'Come on,' Elliott pleaded. 'If I go out there looking like me those guys are going to kill me. You don't want to be partially responsible for me being pummelled beyond recognition, do you?'

Eunice frowned. 'No… but-'

'Then give me your shirt!' Elliott insisted. She pulled off her jumper. 'Come on, I haven't got all day.'

Eunice looked at Elliott's chest in surprise. Elliott glanced down and then remembered that she hadn't put her shirt on this morning. She crossed her arms over her bra and tried to make it look like her current partial nudity wasn't bothering her.

'Come _on_!' she pushed.

Eunice sighed. 'Okay…' she grumbled, and began to unbutton her shirt.

'Great!' Elliott grinned. 'Thanks so much, you have no idea what this means to me…' She glanced up as a skinny, dark haired kid stopped and gawped at her. She recognised him from her English class and remembered his name as Constantinos. She frowned at him and held out her arms. 'What are you looking at?' she demanded.

Constantinos stared at her for a moment longer, and then turned and headed away, muttering, 'Maybe this day isn't so bad after all.'

Eunice held out her shirt and Elliott snatched it, pulling it on and buttoning it up. Eunice took the sweater and began to pull it on, having to wriggle to get it over her chest.

'Yeah, this should work…' Elliott muttered to herself as she pulled at the oversized shirt. It smelled faintly of sweat but it would just have to be ignored. She moved to the couch and grabbed a cushion, using it to stuff the shirt.

Eunice watched her, looking uncomfortable in the tight sweater. 'You'll give it back though, right?' she asked.

Elliott nodded as she rearranged the cushions up her shirt. 'Yeah, yeah sure. Just wait here I should be back soon. And if they realise it's me then at least most of my body will be protected by the cushions.' She stopped and looked down at herself. She looked exactly like what she was; a doomed girl in an oversized shirt with cushions stuffed up it. She glanced up to Eunice and sighed. 'This isn't going to work, is it?'

Eunice shrugged and made an indifferent noise.

'Well, I might as well die trying.' Elliott shrugged. 'Thanks again.' She moved to the door, took a deep breath, lowered her head and hurried out.

The Jocks told her to go on a diet as she hurried past, then another one said she must have been screwing Kirby's mom because she always gives out cookies after sex. This made Kirby quite angry and they started arguing amongst themselves as Elliott quickly hurried past them. As she approached the building she realised that they hadn't recognised her at all. She laughed as she started up the stairs.

'Stupid Jocks…' she muttered, pulling the cushions out of the huge shirt and dumping them. 'Brains like walnuts…'

Proud that she had managed to get past them, Elliott pushed open the door and headed into the school without looking where she was going. If she had been looking where she was going she might have avoided Mandy Wiles on the other side.

'_You_.' Mandy growled, and then dived towards her before Elliott could move out of the way.


	13. Something To Ease The Burning Hatred

**A/N:** Thanks for the loverly review Meezor :D And I was just wondering, do people want a romantic aspect in this story? I hadn't really thought about it but if that's what you want then who am I to deny :P Anywhoo, let me know. And enjoy this chappie! It uses the 'F' word :o

* * *

**Chapter XIII:**

**"Something To Ease The Burning Hatred"**

Elliott scrambled for the door to escape back outside but Mandy was already too close. The cheerleader slammed her hand on the door, preventing it from being opened. Elliott peered around at her and offered a nervous smile.

'How about we let bygones be bygones, yeah?'

Mandy scowled and grabbed a handful of Elliott's hair. Now Elliott wasn't small or weak; she could hold her own if she had to, but Mandy had taken her off guard and before she knew it she was being dragged along the corridor by her hair.

'Whoo-hoo! Bitch fight!' Trent hooted, jumping and punching the air. A few other kids who were in passing stopped to watch the cheerleader dragging the new kid along behind her.

'_Get off_!' Elliott squealed, struggling to get Mandy off her.

'Not until I've taught you a lesson.' Mandy snarled. 'No one makes my boyfriend look like an idiot. You got that? _No one_!'

'But I wasn't trying to make _him_ look like an idiot!' Elliott whined. 'It to make you look like an idiot!'

Apparently that hadn't been the right thing to say. Mandy tugged on her hair sharply, causing Elliott to squeal out again. The growing crowd that was steadily following them began to cheer and laughter. Someone was demanding that they rip each others shirts off. Someone else suggested throwing a bucket of cold water over them. Another commented that it was _he_ who needed the bucket of cold water. It seemed everyone was there apart from the Prefects. Where the hell were those psychos when you needed one?

Elliott suddenly felt herself being propelled forwards, arms pin wheeling. She landed on her front, banging her head off the tiled floor. '_Ow_…' she groaned, pushing herself up. Her scalp felt like it was on fire. She looked behind her to see that Mandy had dragged her into the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her, much to the disappointment of the watching crowds, and then whirled around to Elliott.

'Just you and me now, bitch.' She hissed.

Elliott sat up and held up her hands. 'Come on, Mandy. I don't want to fight you. I wouldn't want to mess up your uh… nice hair. How about we just forget about this? I didn't do any damage. Everyone still loves Ted!'

'That's not the point.' Mandy replied. 'The point is that _you_ made a fool out of me! You stood there while I told you that I actually liked you, that we could carry on and possibly be _friends_ at some point and you were _laughing_ at me. Laughing and scheming like the evil little harlot you are.'

'It wasn't like that at all!' Elliott insisted. 'I was going to get rid of the pictures after you said that! It was Christy!'

Mandy stopped and frowned. 'Christy?'

'Yeah! She took them and… She said she wanted to be the head cheerleader! She wanted you out so she could take your place! It was her, I swear.'

Mandy stared at her for a long moment. 'I… I don't believe it…' She mumbled.

Elliott relaxed a little. 'I know, I'm sorry. But I guess this isn't the kind of place where you can trust everyone…'

'I can't believe,' Mandy went on, more venomously. 'That you would expect me to believe that one of my friends did this! Do you think I'm that stupid?'

Elliott blinked. 'Um… Say again?'

'I've been friends with Christy since my first day here and she would _never_ do something like that to me. You vindictive little tramp! You're totally going to deserve what's coming to you.'

Elliott scrambled to her feet. 'Look, let's just go easy, okay? We don't have to do this…'

Behind her the toilet cubicle doors slammed open. She whirled around and was horrified to see two burly Jocks emerging out of them like lions from a cage. One of them held a pair of scissors and the other held a marker pen.

'Oh now, _hey_!' Elliott cried, growing more and more apprehensive. 'I think this is all a bit hasty, don't you agree? I mean… you don't have to…' The huge Jock with the scissors grinned evilly and she felt her legs turn week. 'Don't kill me!' she wailed embarrassingly.

'He's not going to _kill_ you.' Mandy said with a frightening grin. 'Although he might get an ear or a vital artery if you move around too much. Just hold still, it'll be over in a jiffy.'

Elliott dived for the door but the Jock with the marker grabbed her and wrestled her down. Her straddled her middle and uncapped the pen.

'No!' Elliott yelled. 'Please, seriously! I'm sorry!'

The Jock only laughed and moved the pen towards her face while the other Jock brought the scissors to her hair.

* * *

Elliott felt terrible. She could remember feeling worse since her time here at Bullworth. Actually, scrap that, she didn't think she could remember feeling worse _ever_. That ordeal in the bathroom had been awful. For a full thirty minutes she had been doodled on by the little red haired Jock, while the big foreign one snipped away at her hair. When they had finally let her go and had looked down at the pile of her long hair on the floor and then fled from the bathroom.

Pretty much everyone saw her leave, and pretty much everyone found it absolutely hilarious.

So now she sat on the dumpster behind the Girl's Dorm with a handheld mirror and a baby wipe and frantically tried to rub off the pen from her face. Across her forehead the words, '_Cheap Hoar_' (apparently Jocks couldn't spell 'whore') were scrawled and two crude drawings had been done on each cheek. He had scribbled a little square moustache on her top lip, and on the back of Eunice's shirt he had written something quite sick about Elliott and a dead horse. Her skin was starting to get sore from the amount she was rubbing the scribbled on areas. The ink was refusing to budge.

And her hair… well, that was the worst. Before her hair had gone down to just below her shoulders. It had been straight and probably the only thing about herself she really cared about. But now it stopped right above her shoulders, the ends ragged and choppy. At least that dumb Jock had left her with enough hair to do something with. He _could_ have left her completely bald.

The pen wasn't budging. With a frustrated cry Elliott hurled the hand held mirror across the narrow walkway where it shattered on the ground. Then she covered her face with both hands.

'Seven years bad luck.' That familiar sarcastic voice informed her. 'Although… I don't think it's possible for _you_ to have anymore bad luck.'

Elliott kept her hands over her face. 'Just go away.' She said quietly.

'I heard about your adventures in the bathroom. You're looking very… punk after it all. With the hair and the various scrawlings on your arms…'

Elliott dropped her hands. 'Just piss off, Gary!' she yelled at him.

Gary took one look at her face and then burst out laughing. He doubled over, holding his stomach and chuckling uncontrollably. Elliott watched him angrily, feeling tears stinging her eyes.

'He could have spelled whore properly!' Gary giggled. 'What an idiot!' He looked up at her again after the giggles died away, but that only caused them to start up again. 'Oh _man_!'

'Yeah it's so funny, isn't it?' Elliott yelled, jumping down from the dumpster. 'It's fucking hilarious! Look at me, I'm a freak show! I haven't even got through my first week yet and I've been attacked by a Polish guy or whatever he is with a pair of scissors! And it's your fault!' She wiped away the tears that escaped her eyes and tried to control her wavering voice. 'You knew all this would happen! You fucking _counted _on it, didn't you? You love seeing people getting humiliated like this. Well fuck you, Gary. You got your wish. Now leave me alone.'

She turned away and wiped at her eyes, not wanting to show him how upset she was. There was a space of about ten seconds in which Gary said nothing. She was expecting an insult, or a defence about how it wasn't his fault, but instead he said;

'Stop crying.'

Elliott glanced around at him with a frown. He was still smirking that annoying, malicious smirk but his sarcastic tone had dropped and he sounded a bit more casual and, well, normal. 'What?' she sniffed.

'If you get hysterical I'll end up having to slap you or something. And I'd rather not, if I'm honest.' He shrugged his shoulders. Perhaps some people may have taken that as a threat, but Elliott realised that it was an attempt at humour.

She sniffed again and frowned at him suspiciously. 'What did you come around here for anyway?'

Gary reached into his pocket and produced a roll of papers. 'I heard you bargaining with the Nerds in the library earlier.' He told her, holding the papers out to her. 'Then when I saw your desperate attempt at disguising yourself with Eunice's shirt I thought I should really step in.' A grin flickered across his face. 'Thanks for the public shirt swapping too. Nearly made my day. Or well, I thought it had until I saw the state of you now.'

Elliott snatched the papers with a frown, noting that Gary couldn't remain pleasant for very long. She looked at them and her frown disappeared when she realised what they were. 'These are Algie's math notes.'

'Well done, Sherlock.' Gary replied sarcastically.

Elliott looked at them again, confused. 'Why do you have them?'

'We're partners!' Gary grinned. 'Comrades! I scratch you back, you scratch mine and all that crap. The way I figure it the more we help each other the easier our lives will be here.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, cos since you helped me my life has gotten _so_ much easier.'

Gary smirked and began to pace. 'You need some patience, my friend. Anyway, I count _two_ favours I've done for you. You're going to have to repay me at some point.'

'Yeah, sure,' Elliott muttered as she pushed the papers down the back of her skirt. 'As soon as I get his ink off my face and can face daylight again.'

Gary grinned. 'Meet me at the Carnival tomorrow. I think you're in need of some MRD.'

Elliott frowned. 'I'm sorry?'

'Mindless random destruction.' Gary grinned. He turned and headed away, waving once at her over his shoulder. 'See you there, Post-Op.'

Elliott just watched after him dumbly. Her random meetings with Gary always left her with a headache, and this one wasn't any exception. She perched herself back on the dumpster and wondered how she could get into the Girls' Dorm without being noticed and mocked.


	14. A Little Bit Of Tender Love And Sabotage

**Chapter XIV:**

**"A Little Bit Of Tender Love and Sabotage"**

There was absolutely nothing she could do with her hair until she went to a hairdresser, but with only six dollars to her name she doubted that she would be able to get that anytime soon. It had taken her three full hours after Gary left to scrub off the marker pen from her skin and it had left her face and arms sore and dry. Eunice hadn't been too happy about the state of her shirt, but Elliott could do nothing but apologise.

She had slept surprisingly well. She supposed it was the horror of seeing a giant guy armed with a pair of scissors bursting out of a toilet cubicle that tired her out so much. When she had woken up in the morning she had been hoping that it was some kind of horrible dream, but unfortunately her reflection told her otherwise. So she had pulled on a black woolly hat she had found lurking in the bottom of her suitcase, which was probably a good idea seeing as the temperature was beginning to drop outside.

There was a loud knock at the door at approximately ten minutes past nine, causing Elliott to freeze halfway through buttoning up her shirt. She said nothing and just stared at the door, trying to think of a weapon she could use if it turned out to be Mandy or Christy. Instead it was Beatrice. She entered the room quickly and closed the door behind her.

'Are you okay?' she asked, moving towards her. 'Someone said you were attacked by Jocks yesterday.'

Elliott shrugged. 'You could say that.' She pulled off her hat, revealing her slaughtered hair.

Beatrice gasped and put her hands to her mouth. 'Oh my!' she cried. 'They did that?'

'Well at least they got me back.' Elliott sighed, pulling that hat back on her head. 'Maybe now they'll leave me alone.'

Beatrice sat on the edge of the bed. 'You should have told Dr Crabblesnitch.'

Elliott laughed humourlessly. 'And make myself into a snitch as well as everything else? I don't think so.' She shrugged as she finished buttoning up her shirt. 'It's hair. It'll grow back. It's my dignity I'm worried about.'

'And even with that happening you still managed to give Algie his math notes.' Beatrice sighed. 'That's very admirable. Algie's very grateful.'

'Yeah, well he nearly didn't get them.' Elliott mumbled.

'What?'

Elliott paused and decided not to mention that Gary got them for her. She just shrugged her shoulders. 'Tell him he's welcome.'

Beatrice nodded. 'Well… do you want to walk to English with me?'

Elliott glanced at her watch. 'We still have twenty minutes.' She pointed out.

'I know but… I like getting there early.'

'Well… I was going to skip it if I'm honest…'

'Elliott.' Beatrice frowned and put a hand on her hip. 'You've only been two four classes since you started a week ago, and one of those turned out to be cancelled. If you keep this up they'll put you in detention.'

Elliott shrugged. 'Nah, they haven't even noticed.' She grabbed her dark grey hooded Bullworth jacket she had found in the locker rooms and pulled it on. 'And detention? How can they possibly make life at Bullworth any worse than it already is? I'll see you later, Beatrice. Enjoy English.'

Beatrice only watched her worriedly as she left the dorm room to head into town.

* * *

Elliott stood at the ticket booth of the Carnival, grimly poking at her measly pocket change. There was a queue of people in front of her; a group of four Preps, a couple of Nerds and a morose looking man fiddling with his camera. She already had a ticket for the Carnival as Beatrice had bought her one when they had swung by a few days ago. Apparently though it had gone AWOL, meaning she would have to buy another. Only she didn't think she had enough money.

It hadn't occurred to her that she was heading to meet Gary until she was passing the lighthouse. She hadn't thought she actually _would_ go, but apart from Beatrice it seemed that Gary was the only person on campus who was willing to spend time with her. Albeit in secluded places and he was nothing but a jerk to her but… well, when you had no friends you kind of got desperate.

The group of Preps headed on into the Carnival, leaving three people in front of her. Maybe she could blag her way in – try and convince them that she had walked out by mistake. Worth a shot. It wasn't like she had anything to lose.

'_Psst_! Post-Op!'

Elliott glanced around with raised eyebrows to see Gary near the exit gates, waving her over and grinning. She glanced around, not sure why she would be checking that anyone was watching, although she had noticed that when she was with Gary it felt like they were running some secret covert operation and if they were spotted by anyone something would go horribly wrong. It seemed his paranoia was contagious. She headed over, pushing her hands deep in the pockets of her hooded jacket.

'Nice hat.' He grinned.

'Why are you lurking in the corner?' Elliott frowned. 'You look like you're here to snatch some little kids.'

Gary nodded to the ticket booth. 'You weren't actually going to _pay_ in, were you?'

Elliott shrugged. 'Depended if I had enough.' She replied.

Gary chuckled and then pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. 'This way. It's cheaper.' He turned and slipped off through a gap in the wooden fence. Elliott glanced around to see if anyone was watching, which they weren't, and then followed him.

It looked like a tight squeeze between the fence and the back of the Carnival stalls. Gary was slipping through easily, despite the fact he did have quite broad shoulders. Elliott was narrower than him so she figured she could get through if he could. She wriggled after him, grimacing at the rough fence snatching at her clothes.

'Surely a one dollar ticket isn't worth this?' she whispered, frowning as something scratched her bare leg. She wished she had worn trousers instead of this stupid skirt.

Gary just turned his head, having to press himself right up against the fence to do so, and grinned. 'Come on, don't whine. You're ruining it.'

Elliott rolled her eyes and continued to follow him. They seemed to go quite far before the gap began to widen and Gary finally hopped out and disappeared. Elliott struggled to catch up, once again catching her leg on something. She stumbled out of the gap and frowned at her scratched legs.

'This _so_ wasn't worth a dollar.' She muttered.

Gary slapped her on the back. 'Cheer up. We're in!'

Elliott glanced around to see that they had come in by the prize tent. She straightened up and brushed off her clothes and readjusted her hat. 'Fantastic,' she replied sarcastically. 'But I'm guessing because you snuck in too that you have about as much money as I do, meaning we can't go on any of the rides.'

'Who said anything about going _on_ the rides?' Gary grinned, and then began to jog away. 'Come on!'

Elliott rolled her eyes, wishing that she had just stayed at school. She couldn't be bothered with running around. She followed him, having to half walk and half run, around the corner until they got to the Ferris wheel. She stopped beside him and regarded him thoughtfully as he looked up at the large ride with a grin on his face.

'Now what do you know?' he said through his snaky grin. 'Look who's up there.'

Elliott looked up, narrowing her eyes to see. After a moment of searching she noticed that letterman jacket and that blue cheerleader dress. She heard herself hiss in anger. 'Ted and Mandy.' She growled. 'Oh great.'

'It is, isn't it?' Gary grinned. He tugged her sleeve to get her attention. 'Come over here.'

Once again, Elliott followed him. 'Are you going to blow up the Ferris wheel? Because that would make my day.'

He ignored her and instead nudged her towards the guy who sat in the control booth. 'Go distract him.' He urged.

Elliott frowned. 'What? How?'

'I dunno, show him your surgery scar or something.' Gary shrugged. 'Just distract him, will you?'

He nudged her forward harder and she headed towards the booth, rubbing her arm. The guy in the booth was scruffy looking, and also quite miserable looking. He was sitting back in a rusted chair, counting through a handful of dollar bills. Elliott leaned on the wooden beam that acted as a counter and peered into the little hut.

'Uh… hi.' She said, wondering what the hell she was doing.

The guy looked up at her without lifting his head. 'Yeah?' he grunted. 'What do you want? It's a dollar if you want a ride.'

Movement caught Elliott's attention and she glanced to the door of the hut to see Gary lingering there. He raised his eyebrows at her and mouthed her to go on. Elliott shifted on her feet and managed a lopsided smile.

'I uh… No, I don't want a ride…' Elliott began.

'Well buzz off then,' the guy grunted. 'You're holding up the line. Ain't you got school to be at?'

Elliott glanced behind her but there was no one else around. She frowned and then returned her attention to the hut. Gary was glancing around, checking for people who could be watching. Elliott watched the guy counting his crumpled dollar bills and then cursed herself for what she was going to do next.

'Well?' the guy frowned, noticing she was still there. 'What you still hanging around for?'

'Actually…' Elliott said, tracing shapes on the wooden beam with her finger. 'I just came over to chat with you. Cos, you know… you look good to chat. To. You know.' She offered him a weak smile. She had never been good with this kind of stuff. She saw Gary stifling a belly laugh and frowned at him, before looking back to the guy and hoping he hadn't noticed.

He looked at her for a long moment. 'You're from that school, ain't ya?' he enquired.

'Yeah.' Elliott replied, and then added the lie, 'I'm a um… a senior.'

This caught the carnie's attention and he took his feet off the counter and leaned forward. He narrowed one eye at her. 'You are? You look a little young to be a senior.'

Elliott laughed awkwardly. 'Sucks for when I want to go out,' she replied. 'To clubs, I mean. For when I drink. Alcohol. With my uh… senior… friends.' She allowed her eyes to quickly flick to Gary and then back to the carnie.

'You can't be old enough to drink if you're a senior.' The carnie pointed out suspiciously, beginning to lean back. 'What are you, eighteen?'

Gary was half in the hut when the carnie began to move back, causing him to freeze. Elliott laughed a little too loudly.

'Well,' she replied. 'I mean, of course… um… My other friend buys the beer, you see. You've got to be eighteen to get into the club. The one we go to.'

The carnie pondered this for a moment, and then leaned forward again. The sleazy grin she had been hoping for spread across his face and she knew she had succeeded. If he thought she was eighteen he would try and hit on her. It was creepy and made her feel a little trashy, but it was the only thing she could think of to do. At least he hadn't tried hitting on her when he thought she was _under_ eighteen.

'So you've got a break between classes, huh?' he grinned, leaning with both arms on the counter, closer to her. She wanted to move back but didn't want to ruin her distraction. Behind him, Gary had snuck into the hut and was fiddling with the controls.

'Yeah,' Elliott replied, trying not to stare at what Gary was doing. 'We thought we would just come down and hang out for a while. Here. At the carnival.'

'We?' the carnie enquired.

'I mean me.' Elliott replied quickly. 'I talk like that sometimes. I forget I'm on my own.'

'So it's just you?' the carnie asked. 'On your own? No, uh, boyfriend?'

Elliott had to restrain herself from grimacing at him. 'Uh, no.'

'Shame. Pretty girl like you.' The carnie grinned, showing slightly yellowed teeth. 'I'm Devon, by the way.'

Elliott was still fighting back a grimace of disgust. 'Elliott.' She said, sounding a little sick.

'So, Elliott…' Devon grinned, leaning a little closer to her. This time she had to move back. 'You don't have a curfew if you're a senior, do you?'

Elliott searched for a response that didn't involve calling him a creep, but thankfully there was a squeal of scraping metal and a heavy thump from the Ferris wheel. Elliott and Devon looked up to see the Ferris wheel come to a complete halt, the decorative lights going off in a flash.

'What the-' Devon started, but was distracted by Gary's gleeful giggle as he fled the hut. He looked around in bewilderment as Gary grabbed Elliott by the back of her jacket. He pulled her a little way, causing her to stumble precariously before letting go and allowing her to follow him of her own accord.

'You little bastards!' Devon the carnie yelled after them. 'Don't think I won't tell your school about this, you little twerps!'

Elliott ran after Gary, her heart pounding in her chest. As she ran after Gary, who was shoving his way through the people who were gathering to see what was happening, she realised she was laughing. She was actually _enjoying_ herself. She picked up the pace, running after him to the exit. They narrowly missed being grabbed by a police officer and burst out of the gates, laughing the whole way.

* * *

'Ew, this one is coffee flavoured.' Elliott complained, screwing up her face as she chewed the disgusting chocolate. 'I'm sure someone puts the coffee ones in here as a joke.'

Gary picked another chocolate out of the box and sniffed it. 'Orange.' He confirmed, and then launched it with a swift overhand throw. It soared towards the frozen Ferris wheel and it plummeted down to the faraway ground.

'Hey, I like orange!' Elliott frowned, and then peered over the edge. They were perched on the top of a hill overlooking the Carnival. The Ferris wheel was still stationary, and had been for nearly three hours now. Whatever Gary had done he had done a good job of it.

Gary shoved her. 'Go get it then!' he laughed.

Elliott grabbed the ground beside her and let out a cry of alarm, and then turned and glared at him. He chuckled and returned his attention to the view, tossing another chocolate in his mouth. After leaving the Carnival they had seen a guy put his shopping bag down to unlock his car. Gary had snatched the shopping bag and ran, and Elliott had followed. She didn't particularly approve of stealing, but it seemed to be cheering her up so she went along with it. In the bag had been chocolate, eggs and a bottle of whiskey. Unfortunately on the climb up the hill Gary had dropped the bag, making the chocolates the only thing that could be salvaged. The alcohol had soaked him, making him stink like a hobo even though a single drop hadn't passed his lips.

'I wonder how long they'll be up there.' Elliott mused, watching the Ferris wheel. For a while they had been able to hear Mandy's faint yells to be let down from the top of the wheel, but now the wind had changed so they couldn't hear her anymore.

'I hope there's a thunderstorm.' Gary said, picking at the grass around him. 'And a huge bolt of lightening hits the wheel.'

Elliott laughed. 'Now that would be cool.'

They both sat there a little while longer in silence. It was about lunchtime now, meaning that they would have to leave soon if either of them were going to go to afternoon class. Elliott had no intention of going, but Gary was getting fidgety – the way people did when they were about to leave.

'Why do you keep talking to me?' Elliott asked, turning and frowning at him. 'I don't actually like you very much. I think you're a jerk.'

'I don't really like you much either.' Gary replied, and pointed at her legs. 'You have freakishly large calves.'

Elliott glanced down at her scratched legs and pulled them up to her chest. 'Seriously though.'

Gary shrugged and tossed another chocolate over the edge of the hill. 'I like being the one to violate the new kids.' He replied. 'Gives me purpose.'

'Violate? Elliott chuckled. 'You think you've violated me?'

He shot her a grin. 'Look at you. You do remember that it's because of me that you have that new choppy little do on your head. And I've reduced you to a petty thief and vandal today.'

Elliott frowned at him. 'Are you saying you're doing all this just to turn me into some kind of stupid haired, petty criminal?'

Gary shrugged. 'Not really, but I managed it.'

Elliott frowned and shook her head. 'You're completely insane. You make no sense.'

Gary nudged her with his elbow. 'Why does everything have to make sense? Why does everyone have to live in this world full of motives and rules and reasons? Why can't people just do things because it's what they want to do?' He shook his head and launched yet another chocolate ahead. 'It's just stupid. You agree with me, don't you?'

Elliott shrugged. 'If I understood I probably would.'

They both watched as there was a flash of lights on the Ferris wheel and it jerked into motion, only for it to stop dead again. Faint cries of impatience and anger floated towards them but they both just watched impassively. After a moment, Gary clapped his hands and started to get up.

'Well, I believe I have things to be doing.' He said. 'Important things that don't currently include you.'

Elliott looked up at him. 'When do I have to pay you back for these _favours_, as you so aptly call them.'

Gary just grinned. 'Soon enough.' He turned and headed away, pushing his hands in his pockets. 'Catch you later, Post-Op! Try to avoid that pervert carnie on your way back to school, I think he liked you.'

Elliott watched him head away down the hill over her shoulder and then looked back towards the Carnival. She decided to savour this pleasant moment and lay back on the grass with her hands behind her head.

* * *

Elliott strolled back to school in quite a good mood. Okay, so she was currently attending one of the worst schools in the country and yesterday a burly Jock had cut off half her hair, but that punishment she had received probably meant the Jocks had had their payback and would probably leave her alone from now on. The Nerds didn't blame her for the photo incident anymore, so she wouldn't have to be embarrassed when they attempted to insult her. It seemed like everything had calmed down. Maybe this was the way everyone's first week at Bullworth was? Full of chaos and insanity. It would be the beginning of her second week tomorrow. A fresh week and a fresh start.

It was about three thirty when Elliott passed through the iron gates of the school, and she was too busy wondering if Mandy and Ted would ever get down from that Ferris wheel when she was suddenly and quite roughly grabbed from behind. She looked up in alarm to stare into the face of an angry looking Prefect.

'Elliot Nixon?' he growled at her.

She blinked. 'Um… no?'

'Dr Crabblesnitch wants you in his office.' The Prefect snarled. 'Come with me. And no funny business, okay?'

He shoved her forward and she stumbled along. 'Okay, okay,' she muttered as he walked behind her towards the school. 'Chill out, I'm coming.'

She sighed heavily. A fresh start? A fresh boatload of trouble, more like.


	15. Release The Ton Of Bricks

**A/N: Whey FF's fixed! Yes I was one of these sad people who were sitting brooding because the site was down lol. Hope it isn't just tricking me and luring me into a false sense of security... **

* * *

**Chapter XV:**

**"Release The Ton Of Bricks"**

Elliott sat on the couch in the reception and fiddled with the sleeve of her hooded jacket, waiting for Dr Crabblesnitch to call her into his office. Miss Danvers sat at her desk, watching her out of the corner of her eye. The last few students who had only just left their lessons could still be heard exiting the building, but apart from that there was no sound apart from the ticking of the clock.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Miss Danvers rose without prompt. 'Dr Crabblesnitch will see you now.' She reported. 'Hurry on in, girl, don't keep him waiting.'

Elliott dragged herself up from the couch and trudged towards the door to Crabblesnitch's office. She shot Miss Danvers an annoyed look for making her wait so long, but Miss Danvers had already turned away.

She slipped through the heavy oak door and avoided meeting eyes with the principal. He rose from his seat and exhaled heavily.

'Miss Nixon. Nice of you to join me. Take a seat.'

Elliott moved to the chair opposite his desk and folded herself into it, still avoiding looking directly at him. He sat down himself and leaned back, his chair creaking beneath him.

'Could you remove your hat, please?'

Elliott touched the hat that covered her mangled hair. 'Actually, I'd rather not.' She replied.

Crabblesnitch narrowed his eyes briefly. 'I apologise, that sounded like a request when it was really an order. Remove the hat please, Miss Nixon.'

Elliott sighed and hesitated before pulling the hat from her head. Crabblesnitch regarded her short, fluffed up hair for a moment before he spoke again.

'So, I hear you've been making quite the impression on some of our students.'

Elliott fiddled with her fingernail. 'I have?'

'Yes, Miss Nixon. It seems to be taking quite a lot of pleasure from tormenting the football team. I hear it was you behind that… show on the front of the Girl's Dorm the other night.'

Elliott shrugged. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

Dr Crabblesnitch grunted. 'I thought as much. I cannot prove anything without solid evidence, so I suppose it's lucky for you that no one could bring me any evidence. So you've gotten away with that one, although do not think that your constant truancy has gone unnoticed.'

Elliott remained silent and fidgeted with her hat.

'This is a school, not a holiday camp. You can't wander in and out of campus whenever the fancy takes you. You are here to work, and work you will.' He waited for a response, but he didn't get one. 'I've put you on a grounding program. It means that you will be forbidden to leave the campus during school hours, which is from nine until five. You may go into town between five and six thirty, but you must check in with Miss Danvers before the school building is closed at seven. If you fail to do so then you will be put under full surveillance and prohibited from leaving the school grounds _at all_. Do I make myself clear?'

Elliott had finally looked up and was gaping at him. 'But… you _can't_!'

'Oh I can, Miss Nixon.' He replied. 'You've left me with no choice. I've told all the Prefects to keep a special eye out for you. All your classes will be visited by either myself or Miss Danvers to check that you are in attending. If you can attend all your classes and keep your nose clean for the full week, then I will consider allowing you to have free roam once again.' He sat back, putting the tips of his fingers together. 'We are strict on abhorrent behaviour here at Bullworth Academy. I will not allow you to treat this place as a holiday camp.'

'A holiday camp?!' Elliott cried. 'Are you _kidding_? Look at my hair! Who does stuff like this at a holiday camp? A Nazi reunion holiday camp, maybe…'

'Your bad choice in hairdressers does not concern me,' Crabblesnitch replied dismissively. 'I do not want to hear any bad things about you for the week, girl. If I do then I might have to take a step up. Girls like you need to be disciplined just as much as the boys. Now take your leave, Miss Nixon, and keep your nose clean.'

'But--'

'Take your leave, girl.'

Elliott stared at him for a long moment before she got up out of her chair. She scowled deeply and then stomped out of the office.

* * *

Mrs Peabody was waiting for her on the steps of the Girl's Dorm. She had her arms folded over her skinny chest, glaring at Elliott with her small, bat like eyes. She tapped her watch as Elliott trudged towards her.

'Dr Crabblesnitch called me and said you left his office eight minutes ago. It does not take that long to walk from his office to this dorm.' Mrs Peabody barked at her. 'Now get inside, girl. I've been in your room and it's a disgrace. I want you to straighten it up.'

Elliott sighed. 'Yes, Mrs Peabody.' She droned, moving past her.

'And don't use that tone with me,' Mrs Peabody picked, following her closely. 'Do you want rats in your dorm room? Because if you don't keep it straight then you will have rats. It will be infested like the Boy's Dorm. If you want a rat infested dorm I can just as easily send you to live with the boys. Would you like that?'

Elliott sighed again. 'No, Mrs Peabody.'

'Good girl. Now get upstairs. I'll be up to check on you in five minutes.'

Elliott went up the stairs with a scowl on her face. It would figure really; she had a pretty good day causing havoc by the Carnival but as soon as she got back everything went back to being completely crap. If her life wasn't going completely down the toilet then something was wrong, apparently.

She got halfway towards her dorm room when she realised her door was open. She thought that maybe Mrs Peabody had left her door open, but that didn't account for the shuffling noises coming from inside. Elliott quickly went to her room and went inside, ready to start an argument with whoever had decided to violate her privacy.

Lola Lombardi glanced around at Elliott, and then smiled. 'Oh, hi.'

Elliott blinked. She had been counting on someone like Christy, or perhaps Mandy. Maybe even Jimmy Hopkins seeing as he had some strange talent of getting into the Girl's Dorm unnoticed. Lola, though… well, Elliott hadn't seen her since that day in gym class when she had threatened to crush her windpipe. In all honesty she had forgotten about her.

'I hope you don't mind,' Lola went on, rummaging through a little bag that contained Elliott's toiletries. 'But I ran out of body spray. I didn't think you would mind if I just borrowed some.'

Elliott moved further in the room and shrugged her shoulders. 'Well… you could have waited until I got back…'

'It's much appreciated.' Lola went on. She picked out a lipstick and checked the colour. 'You didn't strike me as the lipstick type.'

'I'm not. I don't wear it.' She paused, and then added, 'If you like it you can have it. It's never been used.'

Lola shot her a dazzling smile and pocketed the lipstick. 'Thanks. That's very nice of you.' She picked out a little body spray and sniffed it. 'Oooh, mango. Nice. Mind if I use this?'

'As long as you bring it back.' Elliott shrugged.

Lola pocketed the body spray too and turned to face her. 'So I hear you were behind those pictures of Ted Thompson and that fat little pee stained kid. That was pretty funny.'

Elliott moved to her bed and pulled off her hat. 'Yeah, well I'm not laughing.'

Lola moved towards her. 'Oh I heard you had a run in with Juri's hairdressing skills.' She pulled and fluffed Elliott's hair in amusement. 'He's getting better, I have to admit.'

Elliott moved from under her hand. 'Look, I don't mean to be a jerk but was that all you wanted? Mrs Peabody wants me to tidy my room.'

Lola crossed her arms. 'You know, I could make that hair look good.' She told her, and then moved back to the little toiletry bag. 'I'm sure I saw some hair stuff in here somewhere…'

Elliott rubbed her forehead. 'Lola, please…'

'It won't take a minute,' Lola insisted. 'Seriously, just sit down. I need some female company for once. All those greasy guys and their stupid bikes are driving me insane, and every other girl in this school is either partially brain dead or a trashy slut.'

Elliott couldn't help but think of Lola's meeting with that Gord kid, but decided it best not to mention it. 'Maybe tomorrow, yeah? I'm really not in the-'

'Ah-ha!' Lola announced, pulling out a blue tin of hair gel. 'I knew I saw some.' She turned back to Elliott and pushed her down onto the chair by the desk. 'Right, keep still.'

Elliott tried to get up. 'Lola, man…'

Lola shoved her down a little more forcefully. 'Just keep _still_. You don't want to end up looking like a complete idiot, do you?'

Elliott sighed and crossed her arms, giving in. 'Right, whatever.'

Lola smiled happily and opened the tin. 'So you really managed to get under Mandy's skin, huh? I haven't seen that trampy cheerleader all day actually…'

Elliott smirked, thinking of her and Ted stuck on the Ferris wheel. 'Me neither.' She lied. Lola began to mess with her hair and Elliott relaxed a little. It was actually quite nice. It kind of made her feel relatively normal.

'You know, Elliott, you should come down and hang out with us sometime. Since Ricky's girlfriend realised that he was such a loser it's been really boring being the only girl. Well… not _all_ the time because it means I get the special treatment but… y'know, you could hang out when they're messing with their bikes and stuff.'

Elliott raised an eyebrow. 'With the Greasers?'

'Sure. They probably wouldn't even notice you there anyway.'

'Oh, right.'

'You have really nice hair, you know.'

'Thanks.'

'It's Johnny's birthday soon. He'll be having a party at the Tenements. You should totally come. As long as you don't bring any Nerds cos, I've noticed you hang around them a lot…'

Elliott winced. 'Actually, Crabblesnitch has put me on a grounding program. I can only go into two like, an hour a day and they'll always be checking up on me. It's only for a week, but…'

'They've _grounded_ you?' Lola laughed. 'Seriously? Oh my God… I didn't even know they could do that.'

'It's only for a week.' Elliott repeated, feeling a bit stupid.

'Oh so what?' Lola replied. 'What's the worst that could happen, getting _expelled_? Would you really care?'

Elliott considered it. 'Actually, I would quite like that. It would mean I could get away from this hellhole.'

'Then just ignore him.' Lola told her. 'Do what you like. They'll either realise that they can't tame you and let you do your thing or they'll have you expelled. In my book, it's a win-win situation.'

Elliott nodded. 'You know, I think you're right.'

'Of course I am.' Lola replied. She tugged at the back of Elliott's hair and then stepped back. 'There. Fabulous.'

Elliott turned and looked at the mirror. Her eyebrows rose as she looked at her new hairdo. Lola had made the ends spiky and brought the front out a little. It actually looked like a hairdo some people would pay a fortune for, and Elliott had gotten it for free from a Polish linebacker. 'Wow,' she cooed, impressed. 'Thanks! How did you do that?'

'It's easy.' Lola told her. 'Just run it through and pull it out.' She sighed and looked at her watch, suddenly looking quite bored. 'Well, I'm off to meet Chad… no, wait… Gord. Yeah it's Gord tonight. Anyway, I need to get ready.' She headed towards the door and waved over her shoulder. 'Seriously though, if you're bored just come find me. I'll probably be in New Coventry somewhere.'

Elliott nodded, still looking at her hair in the mirror. She smiled faintly, and thought that she might just take Lola up on that offer. Maybe a new crowd of faces would end this terribly bad luck she had been having recently. And who knows, she might end up actually belonging in this stupid school.

* * *

For once Elliott wasn't dreading stepping foot out of the dorm. She had managed to recreate Lola's style easily and was quite proud with the results. She would have preferred her normal long hair of course, but at least this was better than wearing that stupid hat.

She left the dorm in full uniform, _and_ on time. Mrs Peabody looked like she was about to faint as she saw her heading out just before nine o'clock. Elliott wasn't sure why but she was in an extremely good mood this morning, which was peculiar taking she was on that stupid grounding program. She guessed it was the hair. Or perhaps her destructive day at the Carnival. Whatever it was, it had successfully secured a smile on her face.

She crossed paths with Beatrice on the steps leading up to the school and she smiled broadly at her. Beatrice blinked in bewilderment, actually looking briefly terrified. Then she smiled back cautiously.

'Well aren't you happy this morning?' she commented.

Elliott nodded and fell into step beside her. 'Yup. I've been grounded by Crabblesnitch, half the school thinks I used to be a guy and the Jocks want my blood but I'm in a damn good mood and I'm not sure if anything will be able to change that today.'

Beatrice smiled. 'Well good for you. It's nice to see you not complaining for once… I mean, of course, to see you _happy_… it's not like you complain all the time or anything…'

'Of course I do,' Elliott waved a hand dismissively. 'Well I'm making the most of it. No doubt I'll go back to being a miserable whining little runt first thing tomorrow-'

'Oh my God,' Mandy's voice cut into her sentence from behind her. 'The Post-Op has actually risen from her pit. And what is _that_ in your hair? I can't believe you haven't been to a hairdresser yet.'

Beatrice glanced at Elliott worriedly as the two of them turned to see Mandy and Pinky at the bottom of the stairs. Elliott just smiled happily at them.

'Oh hi,' she half waved. 'Good morning! Sleep well?'

Mandy frowned slightly. 'What is wrong with you? Are you high?'

'Unfortunately not.' Elliott shrugged. 'Why, do you know someone?'

Mandy stared at her for a moment and then shared a confused glance with Pinky. She looked back at Elliott and put a hand on her hip. 'Whatever. Why are _you_ so happy? What could you possibly have to be happy about? Everyone hates you.'

Elliott shrugged and sighed a little. 'I don't think everyone does, unless you count as everyone. Although… I suppose in your little world you _are_ everyone. Oh, that's not a very nice image actually… I can picture everyone with your face.' She shuddered visibly. 'Ew, Mr Burton with your head. Although that's not far off…'

'You've totally been smoking something.' Mandy accused. 'I should tell a Prefect.'

'Go ahead,' Elliott beamed. 'You might do me a favour and get me expelled! Actually, let's both go! I can back you up.'

Mandy looked totally baffled. She shifted on her feet and looked to Pinky for help. Beatrice was edging away towards the building. Pinky stepped forward, grin spreading on her face.

'I know what's wrong with you,' she grinned, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Elliott. 'I know that look. You're _glowing_.'

Elliott smirked. 'What, like a light bulb? Well I'm definitely more switched on than you two bimbos.'

'Yes.' Pinky nodded. 'Can't you see it, Mandy? Look how happy she is.'

Mandy's face slowly changed into a grin. 'Oh yes! I can!'

Elliott looked at the pair of them in bewilderment, her confidence slipping. 'What? And you're asking _me_ if I'm high.'

'She's got it bad, hasn't she, Mandy? Pinky smirked.

Mandy nodded. 'Really bad. So who is it, Post-Op? Let me guess… um…'

'What the hell are you on about?' Elliott demanded, getting paranoid, defensive and increasingly confused.

'Ray.' Pinky grinned. 'He looked really happy when I passed him just now.'

'No, that was because he found a chocolate bar in his pocket,' Mandy replied. 'Um… I know! Eunice! I heard all about their shirt swapping antics the other day.'

Elliott scowled deeply. 'Seriously, what are you talking about?'

'You've got a crush.' Pinky informed her.

'A major one.' Mandy agreed.

Elliott stared at them. 'What? I have not.'

'You so do,' Pinky giggled. 'Look! She's blushing!'

The word 'blush' tends to be able to make any person glow like a beetroot just from hearing it, and Elliott was no exception. She felt her cheeks burning and her frown deepened. 'I don't! And I'm not!'

Mandy grabbed Pinky with wide eyes. 'Oh my God! It's _Beatrice_!'

Elliott's eyebrows shot up. '_What_?'

'You're always following her around,' Mandy smirked. 'Like a little puppy. _Oh be my friend, Beatrice, please be my friend so we can have pillow fights in our panties_!'

Pinky was giggling hysterically. Elliott glanced around but Beatrice had already made her exit.

'You're full of crap, both of you.' Elliott accused, and turned and stalked away.

'Aw, catch you later Post-Op!' Mandy called after her. 'Happy daydreaming about Beatrice! Cold sores totally do it for me too!'

Elliott pushed through the doors and into school. So much for her good mood.

* * *

It was probably because she had only attended English, Art and Gym that she didn't know a single person in her Chemistry class. She perched herself on a stool in the back row and sat quietly, brooding over Mandy and Pinky's taunts outside. So now she couldn't even be in a good mood without someone using that as fodder against her. Maybe she should just do something big to get expelled, like burn down the gym. Although then she would just be shipped off to prison, which wasn't really what she wanted…

Why was she so wound up anyway? Mandy had said worse things than that to her. And it wasn't even true. Totally not true. Who would she have a crush on anyway? Everyone at this school was either retarded or psychotic or _both_. And how could she have a crush on someone without even knowing she had a crush? Just stupid. Stupid Mandy trying to wind her up, and the worse thing was that it had worked.

The door opened and two students hurried in. Elliott had no idea who they were so she amused herself by fiddling with the little springy handle on the gas tap attached to her desk. The door opened again and she glanced up uninterestedly. Then she took a double take and sat up a little.

Gary swerved around the bench at the front and sat down on one of the stools, immediately relaxing against the desk behind him, rocking his stool back on two legs. Elliott glanced away and returned to brooding about Mandy and Pinky.

_Those pair of tarts_, she thought bitterly. _All they think about is boys. Figures that if they meet someone who doesn't think about the same thing they think they're weird…_

Her eyes wandered back to Gary just as he blew a tiny balled up piece of paper through a straw. The little chewed bullet bounced of Algernon's ear. Algie yelped and knocked over a glass beaker, which smashed noisily on the floor.

'Oh well done, Pee Stain!' Gary laughed. 'What's wrong, were you thinking about your mommy tucking you in? Bet that's what she calls it.'

A few of the other students sniggered while Algie blushed furiously.

'Leave me alone, you jerk.' He cried, cowering away. 'Why don't you pick on someone else for a change?'

Gary snickered gleefully. 'As soon as someone weirder than you comes along then I will.'

Elliott frowned a little. Gary was such a jerk. Fair enough Algie was pretty much asking to be bullied the way he was, but surely Gary could restrain himself for more than five minutes. She wondered why the hell she kept talking to him. At her old school she wouldn't have given someone like him the time of day, but then again she had never been a classed as a freak at her old school. Weird, yes. Laughing stock, no.

The door opened and in strode Dr Watts, a pile of heavy chemistry books in his arms. 'Morning class,' he announced loudly, and dumped a pile of books on Gary's desk. 'Take them around please, Smith.' Watts ordered. 'And everyone turn to page sixty. And please don't fiddle with the gas taps because the last thing we need is another explosion. And… oh, Algernon! Please tell me that wet patch is not from you.'

'It's out of the beaker!' Algie insisted. 'I… knocked it off by accident.'

Watts sighed. 'Okay. Um…' He glanced around and his eyes fell upon Elliott. 'You there, the grumpy girl with the short hair. Go to the boiler room and get some cloths, will you?'

Elliott stood up just as Gary reached her desk. He stood right behind her stool, trapping her between it and the desk. He grinned and then reached past her to put a book down. He lingered a moment, not long enough for anyone to notice but long enough for Elliott to get flustered. He was so close she could smell the toothpaste on his breath and feel his warmth against her. His grin broadened briefly at her discomfort, and then he moved on. Red cheeked, Elliott hurried to the door and went out into the corridor.

'Jerk.' Elliott muttered to herself as she headed for the boiler room. She was really starting to hate Gary. He was rude and nasty and sleazy and mean and insane and…

And Mandy! She just had this talent of irritating her by saying the stupidest of things. Of course she didn't have a crush on anyone! Who could she possibly have a crush on in this dump? Mandy was such a tramp. And Gary was such a jerk.

Elliott snorted in irritation and continued on her way to the boiler room, completely oblivious to the obvious.


	16. No Boys Allowed

**Chapter XVI:**

**"No Boys Allowed"**

Elliott stood at the desk in reception and watched Miss Danvers quickly write a note that said Elliott had successfully checked in with her before seven o'clock. Miss Danvers had actually looked disappointed to see her wander in at six thirty. She had probably been hoping that Elliott would have ignored Crabblesnitch so she could organise a punishment for her.

'Dr Crabblesnitch will be pleased.' Miss Danvers said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. 'Now run along. Remember, you have to stay on school grounds. You don't have to sit in your dorm all night but that all depends on what Mrs Peabody feels is best. I can't think of anything else you would want to do anyway.'

'I think I'll go back to my dorm, I have a little homework to do. Thanks, Miss.' Elliott smiled, wanting to be overly pleasant to piss her off even more. It worked, and Miss Danvers sneered a little before waving a hand to dismiss her.

'Go on then,' she snapped. 'The main building will be closed soon.'

Elliott smiled again and then headed out into the corridor. It was immature she knew, but she couldn't help but get a kick out of irritating the teachers. They were only doing their jobs she knew (well, some of them were – others enjoyed their authority a little _too_ much), but it was just instinctive for fifteen year olds to torture them. As she walked down the stairs she wondered how she could irritate Miss Danvers tomorrow. Maybe bring her an apple or something.

Now it was just a case of finding something to pass the time tonight. She did have homework, but she would be damned if that was how she was going to spend her night. Besides hanging around and getting hit on by spotty bullies there wasn't much else to do. There was the TV in the girl's dorm, but by now it was probably showing some cheesy teen soap.

'Early night.' Elliott muttered as she pushed open the door that led outside. 'Whoopee.'

The cold air rushed her and she shivered. It would snow soon probably, which in this place would be just awful. She could picture the snowballs flying all over the place already. A couple of little kids skipped by, one of them moaning about hockey teams or something. Elliott passed them and headed towards the Girl's Dorm, unable to resist staring longingly at the iron gates that were guarded by the Orc-like Prefect. She really wanted to go to the Carnival, but that urge was probably just because

_(Gary might be there)_

she knew she couldn't.

With a discontented sigh she headed towards the dorm. As usual, Mrs Peabody was stalking the corridors and commenting on the state of everyone's rooms. She shot Elliot a sharp stare as she passed.

'I hope you're in for the night, girl.'

'Yes, Mrs Peabody.' Elliott replied. She realised that those words were the only thing she ever said to Mrs Peabody. Or the occasional, 'No, Mrs Peabody.' She climbed the stairs, muttering a hello to Eunice who was, as always, stuffing her face with chocolates, and headed along to her room.

Maybe she should just do something productive, no matter how boring it seemed. Tidying her room would keep her occupied long enough. Then perhaps that algebra homework might tire her out. Incredibly dull, yes, but it was better than doing nothing. Although the first thing she needed was to get out of this stupid school uniform, it made her itch terribly. She opened her bedroom door and walked in without looking around, pulling off her jacket and tossing it on the bed. Then she pulled off her sweater and bumped the door shut again with her hip. When she pulled it from her head she looked in the mirror, and then screamed in alarm.

'Don't stop on my accord.' Gary's reflection smirked. 'I think I need it actually. Sharing a dorm with boys for so long is starting to make me all confused.'

Elliott whirled around and held her sweater up to her chest even though she still had her shirt on. He was leaning against the wall behind the door, arms folded over his chest. 'What the-' She started, and then realised she was shouting and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. 'What the _hell_ are you doing in here?'

'Well I was hoping to join in one of these infamous pillow fights I hear about that go on here. You think I'll be able to blend in with a nice baby-doll and some lipstick?'

Elliott charged him and grabbed him by his sweater. 'You frigging pervert!' she hissed, pulling open the door. 'Get the hell out before Mrs Peabody comes in here.'

She stuck her head out of the door just to see Mrs Peabody making her way up the corridor, telling Pinky to tidy her room. Gary peered out with her but Elliott put her hand on his face and pushed him back inside, slamming the door shut again. She leaned against it and glared at Gary.

'I don't believe you.' She seethed. 'What do you think she's going to do if she sees you in here?'

'She'll tell you that you have good taste.' Gary grinned. He wandered over to the closet and pulled open the doors. 'Actually, that's a lie.' He added after looking at her clothes.

Elliott jumped at the sound of Mrs Peabody's voice on the other side of the door. 'Elliott, are you decent?'

She leapt at Gary and stuffed him into the closet, ignoring his protests. 'Just a minute!' she called, but despite this Mrs Peabody opened the door anyway.

The older woman walked in just to see Elliott slam the closet door shut and lean against it, eyes wide and expression guilty. Mrs Peabody narrowed an eye at her.

'I thought I heard someone talking in here.' She said suspiciously.

Elliott laughed nervously. 'I was just talking to myself.' She replied. In the closet the hangers rattled.

Mrs Peabody looked around the room with her beady eyes. 'And I heard a yell.'

'I hit my toe on the chair leg.' Elliott told her a little too quickly. 'It really hurt.'

There was a long, awful, tense moment when Elliott thought that Mrs Peabody was going to demand to see inside the closet, but thankfully she didn't. She just half nodded and snorted lightly. 'Well, if you didn't leave things lying around on the floor you wouldn't trip over them. Get it picked up.'

'Yes, Mrs Peabody.' Elliott nodded.

She nodded again and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Elliott stared at the closed door for a moment, and then realised she had been holding her breath when Gary banged on the closet door.

'Let me out, it stinks in here.'

Elliott stepped aside and the door flew open. Gary barrelled out, stumbling a little. He turned, straightened up, and grinned broadly at her. They both noticed that he was holding something and he lifted it to reveal it as a white strappy nightdress. Elliott snatched it from him angrily and stuffed it back in the closet.

'You _idiot_! Don't you think I have a bad enough reputation without people thinking I'm hiding some sadistic sociopath in my bedroom?'

'I hope you're talking about the creepy teddy bear on your bed and not me, because that might just hurt my feelings.'

Elliott took in a breath to rant at him again but found herself just snorting angrily. She turned away from him, rubbing her forehead. 'Okay, okay, you've obviously come here for a reason. What do you want?'

'I want you to come into Old Bullworth with me.' Gary grinned. 'I've got something to show you.'

'I bet it's fascinating,' she replied sarcastically. 'But I can't. I'm in for the night. There's no way Mrs Peabody will let me back out now.'

'Oh yes,' Gary half chuckled. 'I heard that you were _grounded_. Grounded at a boarding school. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse.'

Elliott frowned. 'I-'

'Oh don't start bitching,' Gary groaned, waving a hand at her. 'All you do is bitch, bitch, bitch. It's getting really tiring.'

'Well if I'm so tiring why don't you find someone else to torment?'

'Because I like tormenting you!'

Elliott brushed an invisible spot from her arm to prove how uninterested she was. 'Look, I can't come with you. I can go into town sometime tomorrow afternoon but until then…'

'Don't be such a whining little baby.' Gary frowned, apparently losing patience. 'Come on already.'

Before she could complain again he had grabbed her wrist and was pulling her towards the door. She was too surprised to argue with him at first, but then he hesitated and glanced back at her.

'You might want to get your coat. It's cold out.'

Elliott stared at him for a moment and then snatched her hand away. 'You know what, I'm so sick of you and your… your _weirdness_. Get my coat? One minute you're practically perving on me and then you're concerned about me getting chilly?'

Gary laughed. 'Oh don't flatter yourself. I like my girls with less testosterone. You've got bigger balls than Juri.'

Elliott placed her fists on her hips and narrowed her eyes. 'Bet you would know, bum-boy.' She caught herself and frowned, wondering if she had really just called him that.

Gary laughed gleefully. 'It's hard to miss them in the communal showers they're like a pair of melons. You should come down and join us sometime. Flick some towels.' He opened the door and peered out, checking the corridor. When satisfied the coast was clear he stepped out. 'Come on then, get your coat.'

Elliott just frowned at him. 'Get out of here, Gary.' She told him. 'I'm not coming.'

He frowned, realising that she actually meant it. 'What? Come _on_, Post-Op. I didn't crawl through the damn attic just for you to say _no_.'

'Well sorry to be a disappointment.' Elliott shrugged. 'See ya.' She gave him a wan, unenthusiastic smile and then closed the door.

'Elliott!' he hissed from the other side. 'Elliott, come _on_! Oh man you're such a baby. What are you scared Crabblesnitch will call your mommy to come fetch you?'

Elliott didn't respond but she didn't move away from the door either.

'Why are you trying to convince yourself that you want to sit in that stupid room all night? What are you going to do, algebra? Sing into your hairbrush in front of the mirror? Try and file down those massive calves?'

Elliott sighed heavily and looked down at her calves. Seriously, what was wrong with them? 'Just get out of here before someone sees you.'

'If they do I'll tell them you let me in here.'

'Get lost, Gary!'

'Oh here comes Christy. I bet she'd love to know that you smuggled me in here. Hey, Christy!'

Elliott hauled open the door and dragged him back inside. She pushed him against the wall and closed the door again, this time pushing a chair up against it in case someone like Mrs Peabody wanted to barge in again.

'Why won't you leave me _alone_?' she demanded. 'What is so fascinating about me that makes you want to hang around _all_ the time and bug me like some big horrible… bug?'

Gary stepped away from the wall, head lolling. He grinned that infuriating grin and began to circle her. She couldn't help but think of him like a hungry wolf. 'Oh Elle, Elle, Elle. How many times do I have to spell it out for you? You and I are _connected_, aren't we?' He patted himself on the chest and then gestured to her. 'You hate this place as much as I do and what's better is that you're not as stupid as the other inbred retarded _freaks_ that insist on contaminating the air of this hellhole. Granted you're nowhere near as smart as I am but you're brighter than most. You and I, Elle, we could totally take over this cesspit.'

Elliott raised an eyebrow and smirked. 'Take over? You want to start some kind of school dictatorship or something? Gary Hitler, huh?'

Gary chuckled. 'Think about it.' He patted himself on the chest again. 'Head Boy.' He nodded to her. 'Head Girl.'

Elliott's amused smirk dropped a little. 'You're serious.'

'Of _course_ I'm serious.' His pace quickened as he got more excited. 'Just _imagine_ what we could do to this place! Bring down people like Mandy Wiles and Ted Thompson. You think they'd dare mess with you if you were Head Girl? You could have them up and packing out of this place with a click of your fingers.' He snapped his fingers in her face to prove his point, making her flinch. 'You could have them eating out of the palm of your hand. You would actually _be_ somebody here, instead of just another futureless loser.'

Elliott was frowning at him. She could hear Mrs Peabody's voice down the corridor but she ignored it. 'Why do you think I would want anything to do with that?'

Gary moved towards her so they were practically nose to nose. 'Because you're _smart_.' He told her, tapping her temple. 'Just like me. This school doesn't know what to do with smart people, Elle.'

She moved back, rubbing the back of her neck. 'Don't be ridiculous, Gary,' she said nervously, turning away. 'There's smarter people than us at this school. Just look at frigging Beatrice. She can recite the whole periodic table in-'

'That's not smart,' Gary spat. 'That's just good memory. We're thinkers.'

Elliott rubbed her arms, really just wanting him to leave. 'I think you should go see the school counsellor.' She laughed nervously. 'You've got a few issues you need to clear up.'

Gary moved towards her again and grabbed her shoulders. 'You owe me, Elle. We had a deal. You can't just back out of it.'

Elliott frowned deeply. 'I didn't agree to try and take over the school with you! That's like… that's like going to pick up some eggs at the store for someone and then asking them to make it hatch a… a llama for you or something!' She shook her head, realising that she was getting panicky. When she panicked she tended to talk a lot of gibberish. 'Gary I just want you to go away, okay? You're freaking me out.'

'I hope everything is okay in there girls!' Mrs Peabody said to the room next door. Elliott's room would be next.

'Why do you think it's so crazy? It makes perfect sense. We _need_ to do it before some little thug like Jimmy Hopkins gets it first. Can you imagine what this place would be like if he was in charge? Did you see what he did to Russell just to control the Bullies? He's going to do it to _everyone_, and only _we_ can stop him.'

Elliott shook her head, trying to shrink away from his hands on her shoulders. 'It's _insane_.' She insisted. 'The teachers would never let you rule the place…'

The handle rattled but the chair prevented the door from being opened. 'Elliott?' Mrs Peabody called. 'Why can't I open this door?'

Elliott looked up to find that Gary was staring right into her eyes. It made her uncomfortable and she could feel her skin flushing. 'Just a minute!' she called, trying to keep her voice under control and failing.

'Open this door at once.' Mrs Peabody demanded.

Gary's stare was mesmerising. As much as she wanted to she couldn't look away from him. He just grinned at her like the Cheshire Cat, seeming to get closer. Her stomach knotted.

'_Elliott_!' Mrs Peabody barked, rattling the handle again.

'Just a _minute_!' Elliott found herself snapping impatiently.

Gary chuckled and stepped back from her. He tapped his head, pointed at her, and then retreated into the closet. Elliott was rigid for a moment, skin flushed from head to toe. It was only when Mrs Peabody barked her name again that she got moving and dashed to the door. She pulled the chair away and Mrs Peabody swung the door open. She scowled at Elliott and then scanned the room.

'What on Earth are you doing in here, girl?' she demanded. 'And why do you look so guilty? What are you up to?'

'I just wanted a bit privacy,' Elliott frowned, colour still high in her cheeks. 'Ten minutes without someone bursting in.'

Mrs Peabody scowled. 'If you do that again I'll remove the chairs from this room. What if you had had an accident and no one could get inside?'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Yeah because this room is a death trap.'

'That's enough of your attitude, young lady.' Mrs Peabody scanned the room again. 'And tidy up.'

With that, she turned and stalked away. Elliott closed the door and glanced to the closet. Gary emerged a moment later, holding the white nightdress once again. He examined it with a smirk as he walked towards her, and then held it up against her.

'Nice.' He commented. He grinned broadly at her, once again making her blush furiously, and then he slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Elliott stared at it for a while before lying down on her bed, still holding the nightdress against her.

She wasn't going to sleep tonight. Not one wink.


	17. Getting In The Festive Cheer

**Chapter XVII:**

**"Getting In The Festive Cheer"**

Elliott stopped and watched the snowball fly right by her face, missing her by inches. She turned and shot an annoyed frown at Wade Martin who was standing in the ankle deep snow and grinning moronically at her. At her acknowledgement he waved.

'Hey there, sweetie. You want me to warm you up?'

Elliott just rolled her eyes and carried on walking. The snow was just how she had expected it to be. The other kids couldn't leave it alone – the bullies especially, but fortunately for her they couldn't aim very well. Since the snow had arrived two days ago she had only been hit by about five snowballs, but probably targeted by a lot more.

After that very unsettling visit from Gary in her dorm room nothing much had happened. Elliott got through her grounding program without a single bad note from Miss Danvers (much to Miss Danvers' annoyance), but that was mainly due to her hiding in her dorm room with the door barricaded to avoid anymore of those crazy students. A meeting with Dr Crabblesnitch informed her that she had just gotten off to a rocky start and it was nice that they could start afresh. As a bonus the other students had apparently forgotten about her and she was simply given the amount of taunting that every other student at Bullworth Academy has to put up with.

All in all, she was quite happy with the way everything turned out. She just hoped it would stay with way.

Wrapped up in a khaki army style coat, a pink, purple and black striped scarf and the beanie hat that had helped conceal her spontaneous bathroom haircut, Elliott quickly hurried up the steps towards the school before someone else could target her with a snowball. Luckily for her Algie and Bucky were passing by, which meant all the snow in the area was sent in their direction. She headed inside, shaking the snow from her hat and shoulders. She had barely taken three steps when a yellow piece of paper was thrust into her face.

'Tomorrow night.' The unmistakable squeaky voice of Pinky Gauthier informed her. 'In the school gym.'

Elliott blinked at the paper and went to take it, but it was suddenly snatched away. She glanced up to see Pinky looking at her with one narrowed eye.

'Wait a minute… You're that new kid, aren't you? The one who had the sex change.'

Elliott felt her shoulders slump. 'Yeah, whatever. That's me.'

Pinky breathed out through her nostrils. 'Well I suppose I have to give you one anyway.' She handed the piece of paper out again, which Elliott automatically took. 'After all it _is_ supposed to be for _everyone_. Although I don't understand why we all have to stand in the same room together…'

Elliott frowned at the yellow piece of paper. It had been badly photocopied, with black ink stains all down one side. Doodles of Christmas trees and stars and sugar canes were scrawled all over. In the centre, and unmistakably Pinky's handwriting, were the words, '_Bullworth Christmas Dance! Tomorrow night in the school Gym!'_ and in small letters at the bottom it said, _'And try not to dress poor_'.

'It was my idea,' Pinky said, checking her fingernails. 'And I wrote up an invitation list but Dr Crabblesnitch said that some students might feel left out, and seeing as Christmas is supposed to be a time of giving and all that kind of stuff I thought I would be generous and…'

'Yeah, I see.' Elliott nodded, folding the paper in half. 'Thanks, I guess.'

Pinky shrugged. 'No problem. Oh, and if you do come? Wear something that hides your um…' She pointed at Elliott's legs, which were currently covered in black tights. 'You know, your legs? They're not very flattering.'

Elliott frowned. 'I'll keep that in mind.' She replied, and then headed away, teeth clenched.

'Well see you tomorrow… um…' Pinky paused to try and remember her name. 'Anyway, see you there!'

Elliott rolled her eyes and looked at the flyer again as she headed towards her Chemistry class. As if she would _want_ to spend all of her time in the gym with those pretentious morons. What was she going to do, stand in the corner with the nerds while everyone throws chips and dips at them? Not likely. And gathering all the students in one place like that? Was Dr Crabblesnitch insane?

Well, better not to answer that question.

She walked into Chemistry class somewhat distracted by the flyer in her hand and managed to walk right into Algie. She glanced up, surprised. How on Earth had he managed to get here before her? He had been outside a moment ago. Sometimes she wondered if everyone had shortcuts that she didn't know about.

'Hey, watch it-' He began automatically, but then realised it was her and not another kid trying to stuff him in a bin. 'Oh, heh, sorry Elliott. I didn't realise it was you. If I'd know I would never have been so rude…' He trailed off into an embarrassed mutter.

Elliott forced a smile and nodded to him. 'Yeah, hi Algie.' She mumbled, and then carried on to her desk, making a point of ignoring Gary completely. Gary watched her go by, smirking, and then reached over his desk and prodded Algie.

'Way to go, Pee Stain, you scared her off with your disgusting desperation.'

'Shut up, Gary!'

'_Shut up, Gary_!' Gary mocked, wiggling his fingers. 'Grow some balls, Pee Stain. Oh right, your mommy keeps them locked in her drawer doesn't she?'

'Just back off, man.' Elliott sighed, rubbing her head. 'Haven't you got a bag of kittens to be drowning or something?'

Gary turned around in his seat and laughed, although his eyes looked annoyed. 'Oh hey, Algie, looks like you've got yourself a bodyguard. And a good one too, I hear she's a right ball buster. You busted a lot of balls at your old school, didn't you Post-Op? Heh, bodyguard. Algie you can be Whitney Houston.'

Elliott just shook her head and began to take off her scarf. 'You're such a moron.'

Gary just chuckled and turned around in his seat. He sniggered immaturely as he began to scrape something into the desk with his pen. Elliott frowned at the back of his head for a little while longer as she took off her coat and sat down.

'Right then, class!' Dr Watts announced as he barged through the door. 'I hope you all read through your notes for today's examination.'

There was a collective chorus of grumbles and groans at the revelation. Constantinos muttered something about wishing he was dead while one of the Greasers mocked shooting himself in the head. Dr Watts ignored all of these and moved around the class, passing out papers.

'You should find this easy,' he told them. 'That is if you've actually been paying the slightest bit of attention to anything I've said over the past week and a half.' He placed a paper on Elliott's desk and then stopped and took a double take at her. 'Are you in my class?'

Elliott blinked. 'Um… yeah.'

'Are you a new student?'

'I was about a week and ago.' She replied.

He looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. 'Very well.' He carried on handing out the papers. 'Well as soon as you've finished you may leave-'

'I'm done, Dr Watts.' The Greaser announced, pushing himself out of his seat.

'Sit down, Larry.' Dr Watts sighed without turning. He returned to his desk and sat down. 'Now proceed, everyone. I'm expecting full marks. Whoever gets under sixty percent will have to stay for extra classes.' There were more groans, but Dr Watts just waved his hand dismissively. 'Now begin.'

Elliott turned her sheet over and read through it uninterestedly. It was multiple choice and that made her roll her eyes. She hadn't realised that she had been held back five grades. With a little sigh she set about answering the questions. Halfway through, however, she was interrupted as something hit her head. She glanced up and scowled at the paper plane that lay beside her. How was that for a flashback? The same kind of paper plane that had doomed her whole existence here at Bullworth. She glanced around to see who could have thrown it. It didn't take a genius to work out that it was Gary. He was hunched over his paper, stool balancing on two legs and grinning at her over his shoulder. She frowned and pushed the paper plane away from her. Still frowning, she went back to work.

About two minutes later something else bounced off her, only this time it was a crumpled up piece of paper. She looked up, her frown deepening into a scowl, but Gary was looking at his test paper. Elliott flicked the paper ball away and looked down again. Predictably, another balled up paper bounced off her for again.

'Oh for-' she started, straightening up.

'Is there a problem back there?' Dr Watts enquired, squinting through his glasses.

Elliott blushed a little under the curious stares of her other classmates and ducked her head. 'No, sir.' She muttered.

Everyone returned to their papers and Elliott grudgingly grabbed the paper plane. She unfolded it and read the message. She had to read it twice to understand it, but when she did she had to restrain herself from yelling out in anger. The message said '_bet you wished you'd just read it in the first place'._ Elliott tore the note in half and returned her attention to her paper. She heard Gary sniggering and she forced herself not to get up and throttle him.

* * *

Elliott decided that if she ever met this Pythagoras guy she was going to bludgeon him to death with her Math textbook for unleashing his stupid theorem onto the world. She had been quite sure she had understood it while sitting in Mr Hattrick's classroom earlier, but he must have some kind of system fitted on his door that wiped your memory of everything that happened in the last hour as soon as you walked through it. So now she was sat at her desk, staring at a piece of paper with a triangle on it. Beatrice had offered her help, but Elliott was too stubborn. She would rather sit and struggle than actually admit that she couldn't do something.

There was a knock at the door though, rescuing her from this awful triangular Hell, and she leaned back in her seat. 'Come in.'

The door opened and Lola poked her head around the door, mischievous grin lighting up her face. Elliott turned around to look at her and cocked one eyebrow in bewilderment.

'Hi.' She said.

'This is going to be _awesome_.' Lola replied, walking into the room and closing the door with her hip. She half skipped across the room to the bed, a big brown bag in her arms.

'What's going to be awesome?'

'The party tomorrow night.'

Elliott frowned. 'The Christmas party? I didn't think that would be your scene.'

Lola grinned at her, eyes sparkling, and tipped the bag out onto the bed. 'I have everything we're going to need. It's going to be _so_ great. It's going to be great because I'll actually have another _girl_ to go with for once, instead of standing around with a bunch of _guys_. I mean, I love the risk factor of it all – sneaking off and making sure Johnny doesn't notice, but… sometimes a girl just wants to have a good time, you know what I mean?'

Elliott's eyes widened at the bounty that lay on her bed. She got up and moved to it, a smile playing on her lips. 'Oh _whoa_… Where did you get all this?'

Lola shrugged and picked up a bottle of Tequila. 'I used to date the guy who works in Yum Yums in New Coventry. I can get pretty much everything from him. Johnny never bothers asking me where I get his cigarettes from…'

Elliott chuckled as she picked up a bottle of bourbon. 'This is _brilliant_! Oh man… You got this for us?'

Lola glanced up at her with a lowered eyebrow. 'Well, yeah. We _are_ friends.'

Elliott had to stop herself from grinning like a loon. Wow, so someone actually regarded her as a friend here. She sat down on the edge of the bed and began to rifle through the stuff. There was the bottle of Tequila, the bourbon, six cans of beer, a quart of vodka, three packets of cigarettes and…

Elliott picked up the small box with her thumb and forefinger and held it up to Lola. 'Um… maybe these are yours.'

Lola glanced at the box and then chuckled, taking them from her. 'You never know when you need one.' She replied with a smirk, and tucked the box in her pocket.

Elliott shook her head, laughing. 'You know, this is awesome. I don't smoke but…' She looked at the label on the vodka bottle. 'Impressive, it's not actually paint stripper in a bottle.'

'That's more like nail varnish remover.'

Elliott nodded and unscrewed the top. She sniffed it and then wrinkled her nose. 'I've had worse.' She put the cap back on and frowned slightly. 'The thing is though… I kind of wasn't going to go…'

'Don't be stupid.' Lola snapped, already by her closet. 'Of course you're going. What else would you do?'

Elliott opened her mouth to reply but found she had nothing to say. She shrugged instead.

'Well. At least your closet isn't stuffed with frilly pink tutus and _Aquaberry_.' Lola commented as she peered at her clothes. 'I mean, it's still pretty dire but…' She looked down. 'It looks like someone's been inside here.'

Elliott rubbed the back of her neck, thinking of Gary. 'Well… I wouldn't be surprised if there was. You know what some of the guys are like…'

'Yeah, a bunch of perverts.' Lola snorted. 'Oh hey, this is nice.' She pulled out a dark teal sleeveless dress, something Elliott's mother had bought for a wedding one time. She had wore it once and never again. And she certainly wasn't going to wear it for the Christmas party.

'I don't think so.' Elliott told her, getting up and joining her at the closet. She took the dress and put it back. 'I'm sure I'll find something on my own. That's _if_ I even go…'

'I didn't buy all that crap so you can sit in here moaning.' Lola shot at her. 'And you'll pick something boring to wear. You need to make an impression. You need to make that Pinky Gauthier choke on her caviar.' She returned to looking through the closet.

'You don't like Pinky then?'

'Ha, seriously? I despise that skanky little tramp. She should be stuffed and mounted to warn off any other skanky little tramps who try to get into Bullworth. Stupid rich kids. I hate them all. Although they're good for money.'

Elliott regarded Lola warily. 'Yeah, I bet.'

'Ooh! Here.' Lola exclaimed, whipping something else out of the closet. 'Now I don't care what you say, you're wearing this.'

Elliott stared at the little black cocktail dress that, again, was from her mother only this time it was for a funeral. Elliott had always secretly loved it, but never had the balls to wear it. 'I don't think so…' she mumbled. 'It's not very Christmassy, is it?'

'Oh I'll make it work.' Lola grinned. 'So we're agreed.' She hung the dress up on the door of the closet and clapped her hands. 'This is going to be so awesome!'

Elliott tilted her head and looked at the dress again. She couldn't help but smile a little. 'Yeah. It probably is.' She replied.


	18. Drunk And Disorderly

**A/N: This chapters a bit sweary and a little bit violent. Just a warning, lol. Thanks for the reviews as always, Tinkies :D I think what you're waiting for will be in the next chapter ;P**

* * *

**Chapter XVIII:**

**"Drunk And Disorderly"**

The Girl's Dorm was chaos. So much so that Mrs Peabody had had to call in backup in the form of Mrs Carvin and Ms Phillips. The corridor outside the bathroom smelled like a whore's boudoir, the perfume so thick you were practically choking on it. There had already been two shrill arguments about who's turn it was to use the long mirror at the end of the hall, one between Mandy and Pinky and the other between Mandy and Christy. Both times Mandy had fended off competition and kept possession of the big mirror.

It was because of the chaos that Elliott and Lola had been able to get ready without being interrupted, which also meant they could start on the bottle of tequila as they changed into their dresses.

'I can't believe how crazy they're all going about this party,' Elliott smirked as she unscrewed the cap off the tequila. 'It reminds me of all the desperate princesses in Cinderella.'

Lola lowered her eyebrows slightly as she checked her reflection in the mirror. 'Huh?'

Elliott shook her head. 'You know… when they all want to be picked up by Prince Charming…' She noted Lola's bemused expression and shook her head. 'Just forget it. I mean they're acting like crazy people.'

'It's not very often stuff like this happens at Bullworth,' Lola replied, turning sideways to check her profile. 'No parties, anyway. So when there is one everyone kind of loses it. Can't you remember Halloween?'

'I wasn't here for Halloween.'

'Oh. Probably just as well really. It was pretty insane.' Lola reached over and took the bottle from Elliott's hands and took a quick swig before grimacing and handing it back. 'Oh… urgh… yuck. I hate tequila.'

Elliott laughed as she set it aside. 'Then why did you bring it?'

'You can't go to a party without tequila.' Lola replied. She stepped back from the mirror, putting one hand on her hip. She was wearing a tight black corset with silver stitching embroided in the front, with a short leather skirt and boots that went up to her knees. She looked good, but she could also quite easily be mistaken for a street walker. 'What do you think?' she asked Elliott. 'Too much? Do you think Pinky will choke on her tongue?'

'You look good. Pinky will probably choke on her tongue by just seeing that we're actually _going_ to the party.' She picked up the tequila bottle and took a swig.

Halfway through though, Lola took the bottle from her. 'Nope, none for you until you're ready.' She told her. 'Let me sit there.'

Elliott frowned and glanced down at her clothes. She was still wearing her Bullworth sweater and a pair of jeans. 'You know, I'm not big on dresses…' she started.

Lola hauled her out of her seat. 'Shut up. Get dressed already. The party starts in twenty minutes and I want to make sure we're nicely wasted before we get there.' She sat down heavily in the chair Elliott had been sitting on and took another swig from the bottle. Her eyes were already starting to look slightly glazed over. 'Get the dress on already. You'll look more out of place if you turn up in jeans than if you put the frickin' thing on.'

Elliott looked nervously at the black dress that hung on the door. 'But… it's been a long time since I-'

'Elliott,' Lola said warningly. 'Don't make me smash a bottle over your head.'

Elliott blinked at her, unsure whether Lola would actually do such a thing. Better not to take a chance. She grabbed the dress and headed for the door.

'Where are you going?' Lola frowned. 'Just get changed in here! We've all got the same parts. I'm not going to perv on you or anything.'

Elliott blushed a little and then moved to the bed. 'I was just…' She decided to stop before she started and instead pulled off her sweater. 'So is everyone going to be there?' she asked.

'Everyone.' Lola confirmed. 'And I mean_ everyone._'

'Everyone?' Elliott repeated, pulling off her trousers. 'Like… _everyone_?'

'Everyone.' Lola nodded firmly as she examined the bottle in her hand. 'Although… I think there're a few kids who went home for Christmas… I can't remember. Can't be that many though seeing as most kids at this school are only here because their parents are sick of having them around the house.'

Elliott pulled the dress over her head, briefly getting stuck halfway. 'Who do you think went home? Anyone we know?'

Lola wasn't replying, so Elliott pulled herself out of the dress and looked at her, ready to repeat herself. Lola was smirking at her, eyes sparkling.

'What?' Elliott asked, embarrassed. She straightened out the dress and zipped up the side.

'Okay then,' Lola grinned, turning in her seat so she was facing Elliott. 'Who is it?'

Elliott frowned. 'Who is who?'

'You're trying to find out if a certain someone is going to this party. Now who?'

'No one. I was just wondering…'

'Elliott, I am the _Queen_ of this sort of thing. Now if there's someone who's caught your eye then you have to find him, get him, love him, and then squeeze him for all he's worth. It's the only way a girl can get what she wants.'

Elliott watched her with one eyebrow lowered and adjusted her dress. 'Um… sounds like fun, but seriously I'm not interested in anyone at this dump of a school. They're all insane.'

Lola sighed. 'Yes I suppose. But they're the ones most likely to do the most for you.' She sighed, and then hiccupped before taking another swig from the bottle. 'I mean Johnny… Johnny will do _anything_ for me. He _loves_ me. He would beat the crap out of anyone and everyone who would do anything to me… But _Gord_… Gord is sweet, and innocent and…' She clicked her fingers, searching for a word. 'And _rich_. Really, very rich. And I can't help it if there's some things I need that Johnny can't afford…'

Elliott moved to the mirror. 'Yeah, I totally understand.' She lied. She stopped in front of the mirror and checked her reflection, and was quite surprised.

'That dress is hot.' Lola commented, and took another swig from the bottle (which was nearly half empty by now).

Elliott winced. If Lola thought it was 'hot' then that probably meant she looked like a hooker too.

'It could be shorter though…' Lola added. 'Maybe we could take it up.'

'It's fine.' Elliott smiled, turning to her. 'Now I just need to do my hair… and then can I have some tequila?'

'If there's any left.' Lola chuckled, taking another swig.

Elliott decided to move quick. She grabbed the hair gel and moved back to the mirror, but she couldn't help but wonder who would be at the party. No one in particular of course…

* * *

Lola squealed with laughter as she stumbled down the stone steps that lead towards the gym. Elliott attempted to catch her, but for some reason her arms weren't moving as fast as she was used to and she only achieved in stumbling after Lola. The two girls managed to grab each other and prevent themselves from landing face down on the concrete, but it had been a close call. Their fourth close call since leaving the Girl's Dorm.

Elliott burst out laughing, clutching tightly onto Lola's arm. Lola joined her and they stood there, shrieking like banshees and stumbling back and forth like they were on the deck of a cruise ship.

'Stop _falling_!' Lola laughed. 'You're going to kill me.'

'Me?' Elliott replied, giggling hysterically. 'It's _you_ who keeps nose diving down the stairs!'

Lola just chuckled and began towards the gym. Music emitted from it, along with the sounds of talking and laughing. Lola and Elliott had lost track of time after the tequila, and even more so after the vodka. Now it was nearly nine thirty, meaning the party had already been going on for two and a half hours. Elliott caught up with Lola, hooking her arm through hers, and the pair of them headed towards the doors.

As soon as they opened Lola let out an excited squeal. Elliott could only blink blearily at the bright lights that swung around in the dark gym. It was packed out, with students standing around and talking. There were tables lining the back wall, filled with party food and the odd bowl of punch. Christmas decorations were strewn all over the place. Elliott suddenly felt a wave of disorientation. She hadn't realised there were so many students at Bullworth. Or that could just be the tequila making her see double.

'I need to go find Johnny,' Lola told her, shouting much louder than she needed to over the music. 'I'll come and find you, okay?'

Elliott looked at her. 'Why can't I come…?' she started, but Lola was already stumbling away through the crowds of people. She fell on Ray, and then decided to yell at him for trying to cop a feel. Elliott sighed and then ambled away towards the stands.

Maybe she shouldn't have had any of that vodka. She couldn't particularly see very well and the music around her had dwindled into a low buzzing sound. She sat down on the third row and attempted to look around. The middle of the gym appeared to be where most of the dancing was going on, with everyone else hanging around the outside. If she narrowed one eye she could distinguish a few faces, but none she could properly recognise. Lola had vanished altogether. She suddenly wished that she had just stayed in the dorm with the rest of the bourbon.

'Hey.' A warped voice said from beside her.

Elliott looked around groggily to see Beatrice sitting beside her. She looked the same as usual, only she was wearing a blue pinafore and had sparkly stuff in her hair. Elliott blinked lazily at her and then leaned back, resting her arms on the level behind her.

'Look what's happened,' Elliott said without fully realising that she was talking. 'I'm the lonely drunk at the Christmas party. I should have known this was where I was headed really… I'm the miserable, lonely girl who sits and moans about being miserable and alone… and then throws up in the punchbowl and gets taken home by some horrible, spotty guy and destined for a night of awkward, drunken fumbling and a full day of recoiling in horror every time I remember something new from the night before. As soon as everyone realises just how wasted I am there's gonna be a string of people around me and taking bets on who I puke on first.'

Beatrice looked horrified. 'You're _drunk_?'

Elliott laughed. '_Very_.' She confirmed. She leaned forward to rest her arms on her knees but missed and nearly forward-rolled down the stands. She caught herself though and carefully rested her arms on her knees. 'Where's Lola anyway?'

'Lola?' Beatrice looked around until she spotted something that made her eyebrows shoot up. 'Lola's dancing with Algie.'

Elliott straightened up and squinted to see, but couldn't make anything out. 'Good for her.' She muttered, and sat back again.

Beatrice turned to her, frowning. 'Elliott, you should go back to your dorm before any of the teachers realise that you're drunk. You'll get into _major_ trouble. You might even get expelled!'

'Good!' Elliott grinned, throwing her arms up. 'That would be great!' She unsteadily got to her feet and held one arm up. 'Expel me already!' she yelled, but Beatrice pulled her back down before anyone noticed her. Elliott blinked at her and then smiled. 'Oh hey, Beatrice! You want to dance?'

Beatrice sighed. 'Sorry Elliott, but I'm not getting into trouble because of this.' She stood up and shook her head. 'If you know what's good for you then you'll go back to the dorm.'

With that, Beatrice headed away. Elliott watched after her grumpily and then sat back with a frown. 'Party pooper…' she muttered.

After a little while of sitting on her own and going practically unnoticed by the other students, Elliott pulled herself to her feet and headed towards the stairs that led down to the locker rooms. She swerved around the girl with the dark pigtails and Wade Martin making out at the bottom of the stairs and then stumbled through the doorway and into the bathroom. It wasn't until she walked in when she realised her mistake.

'Oh God,' Mandy frowned, turning to grimace at Elliott. 'We didn't think you would actually come.'

Elliott blinked at Mandy and Pinky, who were both looking at her like she had crawled out of an apple. She managed to frown, but she was aware of how much she was swaying. 'Why can't you both not be complete bitches for ten minutes? Would it kill you? Is your self-esteem so low that you have to ridicule people just to make sure you stay popular?'

Mandy turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Actually, I just need to ridicule you to make you accept how much of a loser you really are.'

'I know how much of a loser I am.' Elliott replied, trying to lean on the doorframe and missing. She stumbled, but caught herself on a locker. 'It's just sad that it doesn't seem to occur to you that _you're_ a bigger… um… loser.' She paused and frowned, forgetting her train of thought.

'Oh my _God_!' Pinky giggled. 'You're so _wasted_!'

'So's your face!' Elliott shot back.

Mandy giggled. 'I can't believe you. Showing up to the school Christmas party completely wasted? How desperate?'

'Really desperate.' Pinky replied, smirking.

'Did you need some extra confidence to go and tell Bucky how much you love his buckteeth?' Mandy laughed.

'And I thought I told you to cover up those legs,' Pinky added. 'Where did you get that dress, the discount rail in the dollar store?'

Elliott scowled. 'Yeah well… Well at least my legs are the same length!'

Mandy's face dropped. 'It's a serious medical condition!'

'Oh, that was low.' Pinky said seriously.

'Yeah, well… good!' Elliott cried. 'You're such a bitch, Mandy. And you're not even _pretty_! Your upper lip is too big.' She turned on Pinky. 'And you! You inbred little tramp. Don't think I didn't notice that little scar on the inside of your hand where you had a finger removed!'

Pinky squealed. 'It's a _burn scar_!' she cried.

'You're so _dead_, Post–Op!' Mandy snarled, springing forward.

If Elliott had been sober she probably would have been able to avoid the lunge, and probably the whole fight altogether, but her feet were slow to respond so Mandy managed to get a good right hook in before Elliott actually tried to defend herself. The cheerleader actually had a good swing on her, and Elliott could already feel the warm blood seeping from her nose. Furious and running on drunken anger, Elliott grabbed Mandy by her hair and dragged her downwards. The cheerleader squealed as Elliott brought her knee up.

'_Get off her you psycho_!' Pinky wailed, and then ran for the door, screaming for help.

'You've had this coming!' Elliott yelled at Mandy as she shoved her away. 'You can't go around treating people like crap and expecting nothing to come of it! You're nothing but a fucking _tramp_!'

Mandy looked up, revealing a cut on her bottom lip and a bloody nose. 'You're such a _freak_!' she screeched, and then fled the bathroom.

Elliott watched her go, feeling disorientated and confused. She wasn't sure if any of that had actually happened. Had she just hit the head cheerleader in the face with her knee? She looked into the mirror and saw her own bloody nose. Okay, maybe it was time to go.

Elliott poked her head out of the bathroom door to see Mandy and Pinky fleeing. They passed right by Ms Phillips, who was too busy discussing something with Mr Galloway to notice them, so apparently they weren't going to tell on her. Still, being caught drunk and bloodied in the bathroom would probably bring her enough punishment, so she turned and headed for the stairs the led up to the swimming pool.

As soon as she stumbled up the last of the steps she leaned against the wall and then slid down it until she was sitting uncomfortably on the floor. She prodded at her bloody nose and wondered what the hell she had done to make everything turn to crap so quickly.

'That's a good look for you.'

Elliott glanced up. She wasn't surprised to see Gary leaning against the corner with his arms folded, but she was surprised to see that he was still wearing his Bullworth uniform. 'Don't you ever change?' she asked.

Gary shrugged his shoulders. He said nothing for a moment, but then moved to her and held out a hand. 'Come on. Get up.'

'Why should I?' Elliott frowned, batting his hand away. 'I'm a mess. Every time something looks like it might be going okay, I somehow find a way to screw it all up. I mean… Mandy had pretty much forgotten about me but I had to stumble in there and smash my knee in her face…'

Gary chuckled. 'You did? Great.'

'She hit me first.' Elliott insisted. 'But still… And now look at me. It's ten o'clock, I'm covered in blood and I'm completely wasted.' She waved a hand at him. 'Just go away, Gary. Hopefully I'll fall head first into the pool and do everyone a favour. I'm such a fucking loser.'

Gary sighed heavily. 'Don't make me do this.'

'Do what?' Elliott frowned up at him.

He squatted beside her and sighed heavily, like the whole thing was a huge chore for him. 'You're not a loser, okay?'

She blinked at him groggily for a moment, and then turned away to wipe the blood from her nose. 'Yeah, thanks.' She mumbled. 'No offence, but it doesn't mean much coming from you. I mean, most of the school think you're a complete nut job. Although they think the same thing about me so…' She trailed off with a shrug. 'Like peas in a fucking pod.'

Gary stood up again. 'Get up. I'm not standing here all night while you bleed and lament all over the floor.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Fine.' She reluctantly grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled herself up, also having to use the wall for support. When she was on her feet again she grabbed his arm. 'I'm going to fall over.' She told him.

Gary put her arm around his shoulders and put his arm around her waist. 'Let's get you away from here before someone sees you. The last thing you need is Mr Burton releasing you're completely wasted.'

Elliott allowed herself to be led to the doors by him. 'But I don't want to go back to the dorm.' She whined.

He shot her a small smile. 'Don't worry. We're not.'


	19. Like Peas In A Pod

**A/N: **Lots of updates today because I have to sit in waiting for the gasman. Damn gasman. Why can't they come at a normal time instead of in the middle of the day? And it looks so nice outside as well... Anywho, thanks for the awesome reviews Tinkies and Classic_One! Hope you enjoy this chapter just as much :P

* * *

**Chapter XIX:**

**"Like Peas In A Pod"**

'I can't believe I had actually sat in my dorm and thought that I might actually _enjoy_ that party.' Elliott muttered, holding the warm cup in her hands. The coffee had helped sober her up a little, but she could still feel herself swaying from side to side. 'And that was before Lola turned up with the booze.'

Gary made a quiet, uninterested sound. He was looking thoughtfully at the dishevelled pictures that ran along the back wall of the cafeteria. The whole building was silent and dark. There were no Prefects on the prowl tonight as they were off enjoying their own Christmas parties. Gary had brought her to the cafeteria to make her a coffee, which was strange to see. She had been dubious about drinking it, suspecting that he might have put something gross in it, but his solemn expression proved that there was nothing wrong with it. Well, that was as long as Edna hadn't made it.

'I keep trying to pinpoint where everything went down the crapper.' Elliott frowned into the cup. 'Cos, I wasn't expecting my life here to be perfect. I knew it was going to be horrible but…' She leaned rubbed her forehead. 'Everything just seems to blow out of proportion here! Why am I so wound up? Why is everything bothering me so much? I don't get it.' She sighed heavily. 'And now I'm probably in even more trouble because I decided to stick my knee in Mandy's face and I'm sitting here making myself look like a complete _idiot_ by moaning about it so much…'

Gary said nothing. He continued looking at the pictures, his chin resting on his fist. His silence just aggravated her.

'And _you_,' she scowled. 'You've done nothing but completely freak me out. You're like… one of those creepy stalkers. I hate you, but at the same time you're one of the only people I can actually stand to be around for more than five minutes at a time. I don't even know why I'm sitting here talking to you now. Sitting here and drinking coffee like I haven't got blood all over my face. And for some reason I can't stop talking even though I'm morbidly embarrassing myself…'

Gary chuckled. 'Keep going on like this and they'll have you on medication too.'

Elliott deflated and slouched. 'It would probably be for the best.' She muttered, and took a sip from the cup.

Gary shifted around and rested his arms in front of him on the table. 'I have a plan.' He told her.

Elliott blinked at him. 'A plan?'

He nodded and then rested his chin on his arms. 'A pretty good plan.'

'Even if you do say so yourself.' Elliot rolled her eyes and set the cup down. 'I told you, I'm not interested in being the Clyde to your Bonnie. I mean the Bonnie to your…' She sighed in exasperation. 'What I mean is that I don't want to be your partner in crime.'

'But it's a really good plan.' Gary told her.

'I don't care.' Elliott replied.

'Don't you even want to hear it?'

'No.'

'You should.'

'Well I don't.'

'You look nice in that dress.'

'Thanks.'

'You really don't want to hear it?'

Elliott allowed a rush of air to escape through her pursed lips. She folded her arms on the table and rested her chin on them, mirroring Gary's position. 'Go on then. Let me in on your brilliantly diabolical scheme before I pass out.'

Gary grinned, but for once he didn't look like that hungry wolf. 'It involves the Greasers.'

Elliott frowned. 'The Greasers?'

'Yes, Polly Parrott, the Greasers. And your new best friend.'

'You mean Lola? For the record she's not my new best friend. She's too slutty for my liking. Although she does have good taste in tequila.'

'That's what we're using to our advantage.' Gary told her. 'Johnny Vincent is already paranoid about her. We need to tip him over.'

Elliott frowned, trying to understand why they were talking about the Greasers. She couldn't, but she knew it wasn't just because she was still a little drunk. 'I don't get you.' She said, shaking her head.

Gary rolled his eyes and sat up. 'To get to the top we've got to get the cliques to stand down. And to do that we've got to use wit and cunning and vicious rumours.'

'You're saying you want to bring down the Greasers by helping Johnny Vincent see how much of a slut Lola is? By playing Chinese Whispers?' She straightened up and shook her head. 'Now I _know_ you're crazy.'

'Johnny _loves_ Lola. At least he says he does. Probably some big scheme to hide his screamingly obvious homosexual tendencies…'

Elliott's eyes widened. 'Johnny Vincent is gay?'

Gary waved a dismissive hand. 'Look, you must see what's happening here. Do you really think Lola wants to be your best friend? _Lola_. The biggest tramp in school, suddenly wants to be friends with the new girl who apparently used to be a _guy_…'

'I was never a _guy-_' Elliott scowled.

'Yeah, I know, don't get your jockstrap in a twist,' Gary nodded. 'What I'm trying to say is that we need to bring them down before they do it to us. It's sink or swim, my friend, and you got to let the losers drown.'

Elliott frowned thoughtfully. 'You think Lola is just setting me up for something?'

Gary nodded. 'Of course she is. I bet she asked you to go down to New Coventry to hang out with the Greasers. And that it really sucks being the only girl in a gang of guys.'

Elliott looked down. 'Well, not exactly…'

Gary shook his head. 'You can't trust _anyone_ in this dump, Elle. They're all the same. They'll prop you up to knock you down. It's how they work. It's how they get their kicks.'

'Alright then,' Elliott shrugged. 'Say that that's true. Say everyone just wants someone to destroy. What about you? You've already said I can't trust you, so why the hell should I believe a single word you say?'

Gary grinned. 'Because I like you, Elliott Nixon. You've got smarts.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Yeah you keep saying. You know what I think? I think you just want someone to do your dirty work.'

'I don't think you've done anything for me,' Gary replied. 'I've been the one doing to favours for you. And plus, I've already got someone doing my dirty work. Of course he doesn't know he's doing it…'

Elliott thought about this. 'Okay. I suppose you're right, but…'

'Come on.' Gary said, sitting up and leaning forward. 'We can take over this dump. You and I. We'll make one hell of a team, Elle.'

Elliott eyed him thoughtfully and then shook her head. 'I'm not saying something else I'll just regret in the morning.'

'Sounds like you've got a lot to regret in the morning.'

'Don't give me more to regret.' She frowned at him. 'I think I just want to go back to the dorm. I need to sleep off all this… alcohol. And ready myself for the two black eyes I'm probably going to have in the morning.' She started to get up but she had taken her legs by surprise and they refused to hold her weight. She thumped back down on the seat. 'Maybe I'll just wait a minute.'

Gary smirked and got up. Elliott watched him warily as he circled the table to her and put her arm around his shoulder again. 'Come on, Post-Op.' he grunted as he lifted her.

'I don't need you to practically _carry_ me…' Elliott frowned as he pulled her out of the chair, putting his arm around her waist again. 'I'm not a frigging charity case you know.'

'Don't kid yourself.' Gary smirked as the pair of them headed for the door.

'And don't think you can lead me off to some secluded alleyway somewhere and take advantage of me.' Elliott grumbled. 'Because I'm nowhere near that drunk. In fact I don't think I would _ever_ be drunk enough to… y'know… with _you_.'

Gary chuckled as they headed up the steps. 'Like I said, I prefer my girls with less chest hair.'

Elliott shoved him away with a scowl, and abruptly began to lose her balance. Gary caught her, laughing, and continued to help her to the exit despite her protests.

* * *

Much to Elliott's surprise, Mrs Peabody wasn't stalking the Girl's Dorm. In fact, the whole building was apparently empty. Even the upstairs light was out, leaving it lit eerily by the odd lamp that had been left on in the dorm rooms and a dull glow coming up from downstairs.

Elliott had told Gary to go away just outside the dorm, quite rudely in fact. He only laughed at her as she attempted to climb the steps to the door. When she stumbled and scraped her shin, he resumed helping her inside and up the stairs. She complained the whole way, telling him that she wasn't even drunk anymore despite her stumbling feet. Eventually they made it to her door.

Elliott looked at him from beneath her messy hair. 'Thanks.' She said grudgingly, as she leaned against the wall by her door.

Gary smirked at her. 'Would have messed up my plans if you had managed to kill yourself on the way back here.'

She looked at him for a moment and then sighed. 'What are you waiting for, a goodnight kiss? Go on, get out of here. Everyone will be coming back soon and if I want to be caught in here with a guy I want it to be someone a bit nicer than you.'

'You're going to help me out with this, aren't you?' he asked, already knowing that she would. 'You'll think about what I said.'

'Yes. Whatever makes you leave quicker.' She turned and moved for the door but stumbled over her own feet. Just before she landed on her knees, Gary caught her and lifted her up. She looked up at him, her hair practically covering her face and her hands gripping tightly onto his arms. She felt herself blush and quickly let go of him, pushing her hair back. 'Well, goodnight.' She mumbled.

He nodded. 'Yeah.'

Neither of them moved. Elliott was mentally screaming at her legs to start walking, to successfully take her into her room where she could barricade the door and hide under her bed, but they refused to comply. She was frozen solid, the same way he had managed to freeze her completely when he had been in her dorm the first time.

'I'm going to go.' She said again, gesturing to her room.

He smirked. 'Go on then.'

'Um… goodnight.' She nodded, but still her feet remained still.

Gary didn't have to bend his neck far to reach her, but he didn't move quickly. He hesitated and tentatively put a hand on her waist. She didn't move. She couldn't. 

_ Oh God_, she thought, stomach churning. _Don't. Don't you dare. _

His lips grazed hers, but before she had a chance to react fully, the light came on. Both of their heads snapped around, eyes narrowing in the sudden brightness.

'Elliott!' Mrs Peabody screeched, hand on the light switch. 'I don't believe it! Get out of here your dirty little pervert!'

Gary flashed Elliot a bright, mischievous grin and then set off running towards Mrs Peabody. He dodged her easily and disappeared down the stairs. Mrs Peabody ran after him, yelling various threats and insults after him.

Elliott remained leaning against the wall, staring at the staircase. Slowly she managed to pull herself out of her daze and into her room. She closed the door gently behind her, trying to ignore the sound of Gary Smith's gleeful laughter as he fled Mrs Peabody outside.

Tomorrow was going to be _awful_.


	20. The Cherry On The Cake

**Chapter XX:**

**"The Cherry On The Cake"**

The blinds shot up noisily and the blinding sunlight flooded into Elliott's dorm room. She groaned grouchily and pulled the duvet cover over her head. There was no way she was getting up this morning. Her head felt like it had been tightened in a vice and then hammered with a sledgehammer. Various parts of her ached and her skin felt hot and irritable. She had a hangover all right, and it was a _steamer_.

'Get up, girl.' Mrs Peabody's shrill voice demanded. 'I'm not giving you any leeway after that show last night. Bringing boys up to your room indeed. I'm disgusted.'

Elliott groaned incoherently and pulled her pillow over her head to block out the blinding sunlight. She felt the duvet whip away from her body and curled her legs up. She didn't care that she was wearing nothing but her pants and an oversized t-shirt.

'And don't think I couldn't smell the alcohol in this room. I should inform Dr Crabblesnitch of your lewd behaviour. It's disgraceful. In all my years here I've never seen such disrespectful behaviour…'

Elliott closed her eyes tightly. 'Leave me alone…' she groaned. 'I'm _ill_.'

'It's your own fault.' Mrs Peabody told her. 'Now get up. Don't make me drag you into the bathroom, girl.'

Elliott only curled up further into a ball. 'I can't. I'm _dying_.'

'You can use that one to explain your tardiness to Dr Crabblesnitch. He's waiting for you in his office.'

'I don't care…'

'With your father.'

Elliott bolted upright and blinked at Mrs Peabody, ignoring the stab of pain that shot through her temples at her suddenly movement. 'My dad?' she repeated.

Mrs Peabody clicked her tongue and shook her head. 'Fighting too. So boys, fighting and alcohol. If it were up to me you would be out on your rear.' She headed out of the room, still shaking her head. 'Kids of today…'

Elliott sat on the bed, heart racing. Her dad was here? Why? Had he come to take her out of this place? She scrambled off the bed and moved to the mirror to be greeted with a pale face with one beautiful purple eye. She grimaced. Wonderful. Although that could work in her favour. If he dad thought she was getting beat up surely he wouldn't let her stay here…

Despite her throbbing head and slightly shaky hands, Elliott quickly dressed and left to go to Dr Crabblesnitch's office.

* * *

'Dad!' Elliott grinned broadly at the sight of her father sitting in the fancy wooden chair opposite the Principal. It was funny; a few weeks ago she had been furious at the prospect of living with her father, but now she would give anything for him to take her out of this place.

'Holy hell, Elle!' her dad frowned. 'What have you done to your face?'

Elliott continued to smile and sat down beside him. 'Oh, nothing. I…' She caught Dr Crabblesnitch looking at her curiously and shrugged her shoulders. 'I fell. On ice.'

'Right. Well seeing as we're all here we can get on with this.' Dr Crabblesnitch said, clasping his hands on the desk. 'We received a letter from your mother, Elliott.'

Elliott frowned. 'From Tokyo?'

'Yeah, your mom's still in Tokyo.' Her father told her.

'Is she coming back?' Elliott asked.

'Actually…' Her father shifted uncomfortably. 'She's not. At least not anytime soon. You see, Elle… your mom got married.'

Elliott stared at him. 'Um… what?'

'The letter didn't go into much detail of who the guy was or anything like that but… well, basically the gist of it was that she's going to continue to pay your tuition to Dr Crabblesnitch so you can finish the rest of your education here at Bullworth Academy. Then when you've finished she's set up a little cash pot so you can get yourself a place. She's put Dr Crabblesnitch in charge of it so you'll get it on the day you leave…'

Elliott was gripping tightly on the arms of the chair. 'You're joking. You've got to be.'

'Elliott, this isn't anything new,' Dr Crabblesnitch informed her. 'In fact most of our students are signed up until they're legal adults. It's a wonderful opportunity to make the most of your education-'

Elliott shook her head. 'She's _abandoned_ me?' she demanded.

'It's not like that Elle,' her father began.

'Of course it is!' Elliott yelled. 'That's exactly what it is! She dumped me off with you because she couldn't wait two weeks until my place here was secured! She skipped the country to go marry some… some _guy_ and she's practically threw a pile of money at me and told me to make my own way! I mean… what the _hell_!? Why would she do that?'

'While you're a minor your mother is in charge of what happens to you.' Dr Crabblesnitch told her. 'She may be in a different country but we're still in contact with her. It's her wish-'

'What about _my_ wish?' Elliott demanded. 'I hate this place!' She turned to her father. 'Can't I come with you, dad? Please. I can live with you and get a job or-'

'I can't do that.' He shrugged his shoulders. 'Your mom said you're not allowed to stay with me. And to be honest, Elle, I can't have you staying with me anyway.'

'Why not? You're my dad! You have more of a right to look after me than a school full of weirdoes!'

'Now, Elliott,' Dr Crabblesnitch said. 'I understand that you're upset-'

'Damn right I'm upset!'

'But you have to understand that you have no choice. I asked your father to come in because I thought it would be better for him to tell you about your mother. As far as official documents are concerned he has no rights over you whatsoever. Your mother made sure of that in a court hearing when you were five.'

Elliott stared at the Principal, and then stared at her father. 'But she said she would be back next year.' She mumbled.

'Sorry kiddo.' Her father shrugged.

Elliott blinked. She couldn't believe it. Three years at Bullworth. Three full years. And even then she wouldn't be heading back home, she would have to make her own way. Probably in one of the towns surrounding the school. No way would her mother have given her enough money to go to college or move somewhere halfway decent. Her future had been decided in a letter from Tokyo. She was destined to rot away in Bullworth.

'She can't do this to me.' She mumbled, shaking her head.

Her father glanced at his watch. 'Look, Elle, I know your upset and stuff but… I got an appointment I have to keep. Are you going to be okay?'

'My life is over…' she muttered, shaking her head.

He glanced to Dr Crabblesnitch as he stood up. 'Thanks a lot, Mr Crabblesnitch.'

Dr Crabblesnitch nodded, rising also. 'Thank you for coming in.'

'See ya, Elle.' Her father patted her on the back and headed out, closing the office door behind him.

Elliott was practically catatonic, staring at the floor. Dr Crabblesnitch moved around the desk and leaned against it in front of her. 'Are you okay, Elliott?' he asked.

'Peachy.' She murmured.

'I can assure you that your days at Bullworth Academy will be wonderful. It seems like it's all over right now but in a few days you'll realise that it's for the best. You'll have better life skills than most by the time you're twenty-five. Now run along, girl. I have a lot of paperwork to do.'

Elliott stood up automatically and nodded, eyes still staring. 'Yes, Dr Crabblesnitch.' She mumbled. He said something in response but she didn't hear him. She left the office, still staring blankly ahead. She walked out of the reception, down the stairs and out the building before she finally blinked.

Three more years at Bullworth. She glanced around. In one take she saw one kid getting beat up, another disappearing in a cloud of putrid green gas and another being stuffed into a trashcan. Three years of this.

She couldn't do that. No way could she survive three years. She had barely scraped through three _weeks_! A stark realisation hit her and she remembered something she had been told last night. Sink or swim. At the moment she was sinking, and she needed to find something to keep herself afloat desperately. Only the losers drown, and Elliott didn't want to be another loser.

* * *

She couldn't face the bright shininess of Bullworth Vale, so instead of turning left at the gates she turned right, trudging through the deep snow. The fresh air made her feel a little better, but the sun reflecting off the snow made her eyes hurt and the cold air made her nose sting. But still, she couldn't face staying in school. Not only was she stressed out about the new revelation that the rest of her life had been discarded like trash, but every time she thought about the night before she had to stop and cringe.

She had been so wasted. She kneed Mandy in the face. She _kissed Gary_. Okay, so maybe they didn't actually _kiss_ as much as kind of put their faces together but… she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Mrs Peabody hadn't shown up when she did.

Elliott shuddered. Best not to think about it too much.

She quickened her pace automatically, as if walking faster meant that those uncomfortable thoughts would be left behind. They weren't though, and they continued to pester her until she couldn't keep up her fast pace any longer. She came to a stop outside of the drug store and looked up at it. Well, at least her subconscious was on the ball. She headed inside, raking in her pocket for the cash to buy some aspirin and a can of soda.

The lights inside the store were far too bright, but she had expected that. She walked in with her head down and her hands pushed deep into her pockets, very much aware of how much she looked like a shoplifter. The small old guy behind the counter watched her suspiciously as she got a can of soda from the fridge and made her way to the counter.

'Can I have a uh… box of aspirin too please?' she muttered, setting the can down.

'You sixteen?' the skinny man asked.

She blinked at him. 'What?'

'You got to be sixteen to buy aspirin. Last thing I need on my head is some kid topping themselves on my pills. You sixteen?'

Elliott shrugged and handed him a five-dollar bill. Her _last_ five-dollar bill. 'Yeah, yeah sure. Whatever. Just give them to me.'

The skinny guy narrowed one eye, but then tossed her a box of aspirin and took the money. He gave her the change and she gathered her purchases and headed outside. She cracked open the can and just started to lift it to her mouth when someone slammed into her. The can slipped through her fingers and landed on the floor, spilling out onto the ground and fizzing away on the snow. She scowled at it and then looked up to see who had just made her waste a dollar that she couldn't afford to waste.

'Oh man,' Jimmy Hopkins frowned at the spilled can. 'Sorry. I didn't see you coming out the store.'

'Oh it would be you, wouldn't it?' she scowled. 'Watch where the hell you're going you little twerp.' She shoved past him and stalked away down the street, stuffing the aspirin in her pocket.

'Hey, it was an accident!' Jimmy called after her. 'You don't need to be a bitch about it.'

Elliott spun around, feet skidding in the snow. 'You want to watch what you're saying,' she warned. 'Because I'm having an _incredibly_ bad day. You wouldn't believe how bad my day is. And if you want to start something with me you better have remembered to put your cup on this morning.'

Jimmy raised his hands in defence. 'Look, man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock your soda out of your hand. I'll get you another one.'

'I don't want your charity.' Elliott replied.

'But I bet you want a soda.' Jimmy shrugged.

She looked at him for a moment before crossing her arms and sighing in exasperation. 'I suppose. I can't swallow aspirin dry. They make me retch.'

'Well wait here a minute.' Jimmy told her, heading inside the drugstore. 'Man,' she heard him mutter as he went inside. 'What's with all the crazy chicks around here…'

Elliott frowned and got out the box of aspirin, popping two out of the blister packaging into her hand. A moment later Jimmy returned and handed her the can. She took it, still frowning, and cracked it open.

'That's a nice black eye you've got going on there.' Jimmy commented as she put the pills in her mouth and took a deep drink from the can. 'Who'd you piss off to get a shiner like that?'

'None of your business.' Elliott replied, breathless from drinking so long. She swallowed, trying to settle the gas creeping up her throat. 'Thanks for replacing the can.'

'Hey!' Jimmy said, following her as she tried to head away. 'What's your problem? I know there's a whole bunch of kids in that place that hate my guts but a lot of them have a reason for it. I haven't done anything to you.'

Elliott frowned at him over her shoulder, wishing that he would just go away. 'Piss off, Jimmy. I'm not in the mood.'

'Tell me what your problem is and I'll go. Man, and I thought you were one of the few _normal_ kids around here.'

Elliott turned and prodded him in the chest. 'I know what you were saying about me.' She frowned. 'Behind my back. Telling people I was some kind of slut in my old school. Well screw you, Jimmy Hopkins. At least have the decency to say it to my face.'

Jimmy rolled his eyes and sighed. 'Oh right, yeah. I bet I said something about farmyard animals too, huh?'

Elliott scowled. 'Yeah you did.'

'You've been talking to Gary, haven't you? Man I can't understand why people actually _believe_ that sociopath…'

Elliott recoiled a little. 'You're saying Gary made it up? Why the hell would he make something like that up?'

'Because he's a psychopathic little creep.' Jimmy replied. 'He pretended to be my friend when I first got here and then turned on me. Thought I was scheming behind his back or something. So he's off spreading rumours left right and centre, trying to turn everyone against me. Whatever he says to you, Elliott, you ignore him. He's messed up.'

Elliott looked at him for a moment and then frowned. 'Well you would say that, wouldn't you? _You're_ the crazy one, sunshine. I heard about what you did to all those Preps in Harrington House. Going in and beating them all up like that. You're the psycho, Jimmy. Don't deny it.'

'They had it coming,' Jimmy told her. 'That same way that Gary has it coming. Seriously, you hang with him then you'll have it coming too.'

Elliott half laughed. 'Did you just threaten me?'

'Maybe. If you're hanging around with Gary.'

She stared at him for a moment, corner of her mouth lifted in a disbelieving smile. After a moment she shook her head and began to head away. 'He was right about you. You're a complete thug.'

'Don't say I didn't warn you!' He called after her. 'He's a creep, Elliott. He'll mess with your head. He's done it to everyone else at this dump of a school, and he'll do it to you too.'

Elliott stormed away, scowling deeply and trying her best to ignore Jimmy. As if she would believe a little thug like him. Gary just wanted to put everyone in their place, that's all. And after the revelations of today, she was beginning to agree with him.

If she had to spend the next three years here, she wanted them to be as easy as possible. Sink or swim.


	21. Sticking The Oar In

**Chapter XXI:**

**"Sticking The Oar In"**

Elliott grunted as she hurled the pebble with as much force as she could muster. It went pretty far actually, and it skipped three times on the water's surface before disappearing below with a low _plop_. She watched the ripples for a minute and then reached down to pick another smooth stone up from the snow at her feet.

'Okay,' Gary nodded, fiddling with his beanie hat as he leaned against one of the wooden posts that held up the pier. 'This is how it's going to happen.'

Elliott threw the next stone and stayed silent. Before her run in with Jimmy Hopkins she had been planning on going back to the Girl's Dorm and sneaking back to bed. She certainly didn't want to see Gary today, but Jimmy had struck something in her. And, as usual, she knew just where to find Gary because he knew just where she would look for him.

'Lola has arranged to meet Gord this afternoon in Bullworth Town. Johnny Vincent and the rest of the Greasers will be in New Coventry, probably braiding each other's hair and trying to salvage the last of their manliness. What you have to do is go down to New Coventry, find Johnny, and tell him that Lola is with Gord.'

Elliott frowned down at the ground as she kicked the snow away in search of another pebble. 'That's it? Won't Johnny just laugh at me?'

Gary chuckled. 'You don't know Johnny. And hint that Lola is a two timing little slut and he'll either break down in tears or beat the crap out of you.'

'Great. So he's either going to give me another black eye or get bogies all over my shoulder.'

Gary pushed away from the post and joined her side. 'You're a girl. He's not going to beat the crap out of you. And plus he probably knows that you've been spending time with Lola. He'll have no reason not to believe you. And the other Greasers hate Lola. If you make sure they're there they'll back you up.' He kicked the snow aside and bent down to retrieve a smooth flat stone, which he then handed to her. 'It'll totally get the ball rolling.'

Elliott took the stone and turned back to the water. 'Why the Greasers though? I don't see why you have to mess with them. It's not like they do anything.'

'Everyone's got their place.' Gary told her. 'Just like you have. You're just lucky to be in on it. A lot of girls would give their right arm for that.'

'Yeah, they'd lose their right arm while trying to scramble away from you.' Elliott replied. She threw the pebble and it skimmed the surface, totalling seven bounces on the water before losing momentum and sinking. 'I'm not sure if I'm comfortable setting Lola up like that. I mean… she's been really nice to me and…'

'You're not wussing out, _are_ you?' Gary smirked, nudging her with his elbow.

She frowned at him. 'No. Just…'

'Because if you are I can easily just let you get on with your peaceful little life here at Bullworth Academy…'

Elliott nudged him back, frowning deeper. 'I'm _not_.' She insisted. 'I just…' She sighed. 'I ran into Jimmy Hopkins earlier…'

Gary's expression immediately darkened. 'James? Oh I bet you did. What did that evil little troll have to say? I bet he tried to be your buddy and denied everything that he said about you. He's such a lying little bastard…'

'He said you made it up,' Elliott said. 'That you're just screwing with my head like you're doing with everyone else.'

'You don't honestly _believe_ him, do you? Did you see what he did to Bif? And Derby? Those guys were sucking through straws for a week.' Gary began to pace and she could see he was getting agitated. When he was getting worked up about something he hunched slightly and began moving in awkward jerks and shuffles. 'I tell you what he's trying to do, he's trying to turn you against me. He wants you on his side to take the school through nothing but brute force. He wants this place for himself. He knows I'm onto him and he needs to get me out of the way…'

Elliott wrinkled her nose a little. 'Is this like a… territory thing? Sounds like the two of your have too much testosterone. I'm expecting to walk back into school to see you both running around campus and pissing on walls to mark your scent.'

Gary turned to her. 'You understand that we can't let him win, don't you? Can you _imagine_ what this place would be like with him in charge? You think it's bad now…'

Elliott rolled her eyes and half laughed, placing one hand on his chest to make him back off a little. 'Calm down, Gary. I don't believe him. I think I can tell when someone's trying to play me. Plus it doesn't help when they outright threaten to beat me up.'

Gary frowned momentarily, and then that snaky smile broke out across his face. He nodded. 'Good.'

Elliott kicked the snow aside to produce another flat stone. 'So Johnny will be in New Coventry, yeah?' She launched the stone towards the water and brushed her hands together. 'You sure he's not going to beat the crap out of me?'

Gary smiled at her. 'You think I'd send you down there if he was?'

Elliott smiled a little in return. 'Right. Well, I'll catch you later. Apparently I have some shit to be stirring.'

She began to head away but felt Gary grab her hand. She turned, half frowning, and looked at his solemn expression.

'You know I'm not the one you have to watch out for, don't you?' he asked. 'Forget what I said before. We can only trust each other.'

Elliott eyed him for a moment before nodding. 'Yeah. I know.' She pulled her hand away from him, feeling uncomfortable. 'I'll let you know what happened.'

Gary nodded and turned away, plucking a fat round pebble and throwing it into the water. 'Oh and I meant to ask you,' he shot her a quick cheeky grin. 'How's your head?'

Elliott rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. 'Um… okay since I got some aspirin.'

'Mrs Peabody give you a hard time?'

She felt herself blushing. 'I better get going. I'll find you later, okay?'

He smirked at her. 'I'll find you.'

Elliott nodded, red faced and awkward, and headed away. It was hard walking across a snowy beach but she managed without embarrassing herself too much and made her way towards New Coventry.

* * *

Elliott had managed to avoid New Coventry altogether since starting at Bullworth Academy, and she wished she had been able to continue avoiding it. Police sirens wailed in the distance, hobos shuffled along the sidewalk yelling at phantoms and drinking from brown paper bags and the surrounding buildings were practically derelict. She had no idea where she was going. Gary had said they would either be at the Tenements or the underpass. The urine stinking underpass was desolate apart from one rather foul-mouthed hobo in a Santa hat and she had no idea where the Tenements were.

Maybe she hadn't thought this whole thing through properly.

'Hey, it's that kid who had the sex change!'

Elliott stopped and rolled her eyes. She looked around to see a trio of Greasers emerging from the underpass. It probably would have helped if she knew what Johnny Vincent actually looked like.

'It's Elliott, actually.' Elliott said, trying to look annoyed rather than terrified. 'I'm looking for Johnny.'

A handsome, smooth faced Greaser stepped forward, one eye narrowed suspiciously. 'You are, huh? And what do you want with Johnny Vincent?'

Another Greaser stepped forward, his hair slicked back. He stood close to the smooth faced Greaser and jabbed a finger at Elliott. 'Johnny don't see just anybody you know.'

'Cool it, Peanut.' The smooth faced Greaser told him. He turned back to Elliott and crossed his arms. 'I know you, kid. You set up that whole thing to humiliate Ted Thompson. We liked that, didn't we guys?'

The third Greaser, a heavyset guy just finishing off a cheeseburger, sniggered and nodded. 'That weird Nerd had a boner in those pictures.'

'Shut up, Hal.' The smooth faced Greaser shot at him. He turned back to Elliott. 'You've been hanging out with Lola too, haven't you?'

Elliott crossed folded her arms over her chest. She didn't want to show that she was nervous, but her hangover was already making her shake like a little kitten. 'That's what I came to talk to him about actually.'

Peanut and Hal glanced warily at the smooth faced Greaser, and immediately Elliott clicked on that he was Johnny Vincent. Also in that moment she became more exasperated with the whole thing rather than frightened. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. 'And drop the act, I know you're Johnny. Christ, who do you think you are, the Mafia or something?'

Peanut scowled and jabbed his finger at her again. 'No one talks to Johnny like that.'

'What do you want to say about Lola anyways?' Johnny frowned, taking a step forward. 'You know where she is?'

'Well, I know what she's going to be doing later.' Elliott shrugged.

Johnny eyed her. 'What do you want?'

She blinked. 'Huh?'

'You must want something. Kids don't just wander into New Coventry to tell people where their girlfriends are. You know something and you want something.'

'I don't want anything,' Elliott replied, pushing her hands in her pockets. 'Apart from a bit peace and quiet. And maybe for the next three years to go past in three seconds. No, I just thought you had a right to know what your girl is up to.'

Johnny frowned at her. 'I'm not buying it.'

Elliott shrugged and tilted her head. 'Okay, fine. Suit yourself.' She started away but was grabbed by the arm and dragged back. Johnny pushed his face near hers, his lip curled back.

'Where is that slut?' he demanded.

'Johnny, man, cool it.' Peanut told him. 'She's a girl, man.'

Elliott tried to pull from his grip but it was too tight. 'Let go of me!'

Johnny let go stepped in front of her so she couldn't leave. 'Come on then! Who's she screwing now. Huh? Everyone knows that she's a complete slut! She's making me look like an idiot! Who is it, huh?'

Elliott recoiled from his yelling face. 'Some Prep called Gord.' She told him. 'She's meeting him this afternoon in Bullworth Town. Just go and see for yourself if you don't believe me!'

'You're setting me up for something too, aren't you?' Johnny demanded. 'Same way you set that pretty boy quarterback. Why would you come and tell me this if you don't want anything? I thought you were Lola's friend.'

Elliott shrugged. 'I just thought you had a right to know. Now can you move your greasy ass out of the way so I can leave?'

Peanut opened his mouth to tell her that nobody speaks to Johnny Vincent like that but Johnny whirled around to the two other Greasers.

'I want to know if it's true,' he told them angrily. 'Get someone to follow them.'

'But, boss…' Peanut frowned. 'If she sees any of us then she'll know what we're doing…'

Elliott smiled a little and slipped past Johnny.

'Well get someone else!' Johnny yelled. 'What about that other new kid? I hear he's been doing a lot for other kids. Yeah, get the new kid. Tell him I want to see him, _now_.'

Elliott hurried away before the Greasers could stop her. It was obvious she had just started something here, but she was unsure to what it was. Either way she couldn't help but feel a little giddy. Who knew that shit stirring could cheer a person up so much?


	22. Back Street Intimidation

**Chapter XXII:**

**"Back Street Intimidation"**

'Morning girls! Time to get up!'

It took Elliott a few moments to realise that the voice wasn't Mrs Peabody. If it had been Mrs Peabody the morning struggle to get out of bed would have begun with Elliott pulling the duvet over her head and drowning out the outside world, but instead she sat up and frowned.

'Are you up, Elliott?' Ms Phillips enquired, sticking her head around the door. 'I hope you're on top form for photography this morning. I absolutely adored your photograph of the broken yardstick. It was just so… _powerful_.'

With a smile, Ms Phillips disappeared again. Elliott blinked at the door for a moment. Actually she had taken that photograph by accident when she had been mucking about with the flash. It wasn't unheard of for Ms Phillips to be wandering around the Girl's Dorm, but Mrs Peabody _always_ came in to wake Elliott. The woman took a strange pleasure in dragging her out of bed every morning. More out of bewilderment than anything else, Elliott swung her legs out of bed and rubbed her eyes.

It was funny, Elliott mused as she stood up and grabbed her wash bag, Mrs Peabody practically had to fight her every day to get her up when all it really took was a nice good morning and a smile. She shrugged and sighed a little as she headed out towards the bathroom.

* * *

The uneventful and calm way that Elliott woke up that morning had been good for her. She felt brighter and nowhere near as stroppy as she usually was. She hoped Mrs Peabody had been sacked or retired or something like that so she could get up like that every morning. And to top off her good mood, it was Christmas Eve, which meant only half-day classes. And an easy class at that – all she had to do today was go into Bullworth Town and take a photograph of something Christmassy.

She had opted for her black tracksuit jacket, orange scarf and matching gloves. The snow was still thick and snowballs still flew every which way but Elliott carried on regardless, actually managing to walk from the school building to the gates without being hit once. Now if that didn't signify that today was going to be good, she didn't know what did.

When she turned the corner she felt someone falling into step beside her. She glanced around, eyebrow raised, to see that Christy was walking with her, clutching a textbook to her chest.

'Hey,' Christy sighed glumly. 'God I hate this place _so_ much. You should see how much homework Hattrick has given me. That miserable jerk. He's like, totally fat and gross. I wish he'd just go off and die or something.'

Elliott tilted her head in confusion. 'Um… what?'

'I mean, it's _Christmas_, you know? What kind of person gives out double homework at _Christmas_? Isn't it bad enough that I can't even go and see my family this Christmas? I bet he gets to have a really nice fancy meal at home. I hope he chokes on a sprout.'

Elliott's frown only deepened. 'Um… I don't mean to be rude but… what are you doing?'

Christy glanced to her. 'Oh, I'm heading into town because I'm trying to avoid going to English for second period…'

Elliott stopped and shook her head. 'No, I mean what are you _doing_? Standing here? Talking to me? Like I don't hate your guts?'

Christy blinked, not understanding. 'You don't mind me walking with you, do you?'

'I do, actually. Very much so. Unless you're planning on throwing yourself under a car on the way because then you're more than welcome to join me. Otherwise, push off.' Elliott resumed walking. The other girl remained where she was for a moment before catching up and walking alongside her again.

'I heard you mom is staying in Tokyo,' she said. 'That must suck. I mean, you might not even get a present.'

Elliott turned and glared at her. 'Take a hint! Go away!'

Christy screwed up her nose. 'God, what is your _problem_?'

'Oh, I don't know… Maybe it's got something to do with you stealing those photographs and sticking them up all over the school. What do you think?'

Christy rolled her eyes. 'Oh _that_. I totally thought you would have gotten over that by now. It was like, two weeks ago or something.'

'Yeah, well a lot happened as a consequence of that in the last two weeks. Most memorable being attacked in the bathroom with a permanent marker and a pair of scissors.' She pulled in annoyance at her short hair. 'I didn't pay for this crap you know.'

'But _I_ didn't do that.' Christy replied. 'Look, it might not have turned out the way I had expected it to but… well, at least you got a boyfriend out of it, yeah?'

Elliott half frowned. 'Excuse me?'

'You're dating him, right?' Christy asked. 'I mean, that's what everyone's been saying since the pair of you stumbled off into the night at the Christmas party…'

'Gary?' Elliott cried, eyebrows shooting up. She spluttered for a moment before laughing uncomfortably. 'Gary's not my _boyfriend_. Come _on_ I have standards.'

Christy eyed her a moment before shrugging. 'Oh. Sorry. That's just what I heard.' She started walking, now leaving Elliott to catch up with her.

'From who?'

'Oh, no one in particular. It's just, well, everyone saw him taking you away from the party and then you've been hanging out with him a lot, which is weird in itself because usually people can't spend five minutes with Gary without him torturing them in some shape or form. Either you're into that kind of stuff or… well, the pair of you have got it going on.'

Elliott glanced around to see if anyone was in earshot. She could see Eunice plodding along on the bridge ahead but that was it. 'That's bullshit.'

Christy shrugged. 'If you say so.' She turned and smiled at her. 'Hey, you want to go for pizza?'

'I have to take photos.' Elliott said distractedly.

'Oh right.' Christy nodded. 'Well, you know, if it helps at all I don't think Gary is all that bad. Okay he's completely insane and I might have once seen him stuffing a dead rat down some little kid's shirt but… I think it might be that eye scar…'

Elliott shuddered and suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. 'Okay, cool those jets there,' she said a little too quickly. 'I get the message.'

Christy smirked at her. 'You might as well just go for it. Might help your time tick away a bit quicker.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'I don't need a boy to help me stay occupied.'

A look of realisation crossed Christy's face. '_Oh_! When Mandy said you were a lesbian I thought she was only-'

'I don't mean I'm a lesbian!' Elliott snapped. 'I just meant I don't _need_ a boyfriend! God, what's wrong with you?'

'Well sor-_ry_.' She sighed and looked at her watch. 'Well I'm going to go get pizza.' She announced. 'If I have to go another day eating nothing but apples I think I might explode.' She turned on her heels and began to head back the way they had just walked, waving one hand to Elliott. 'See ya, Elliott! Maybe we can go for lunch another day, yeah?'

Elliott just watched after her, half her nose wrinkled. The people at this school were _insane._ There was no other way to put it. Shaking her head, she carried on into town.

* * *

The most festive thing that Elliott could find was an unconscious hobo wearing a Santa hat and a fake beard. After a few minutes of watching the scruffy snoring man and wondering how long she would survive on the streets, she took three photos and then began to make her way back to school. Most of her mind was on what Christy had been saying about Gary so she wasn't concentrating on where she was going. And she didn't realise that Johnny Vincent was following her.

As she passed the alley that ran behind the comic book store, Johnny Vincent struck. He grabbed her from behind, wrapping one arm around her middle and put his other hand over her mouth. He pulled her down the steps to the fire exit that led into the Nerd's not-so-secret hideout and pushed her against the wall.

'You yell or anything and I'll shut you up,' he told her harshly. 'Got that?'

Elliott nodded, staring at him with wide eyes over his hand. Johnny glanced over his shoulder up at the street and then removed his hand from her mouth. Elliott stared at him, terrified. She had heard that Johnny was a bit crazy, but not to the point where he dragged people into alleyways.

'You knew about Lola and Gord,' he frowned, still holding her arms quite tightly. 'How?'

Elliott squirmed, trying to get out of his grip. 'Johnny man, come on…'

'Did she tell you?' Johnny demanded. 'What else did she tell you? Is there anyone else?'

'I… I have no idea,' she insisted. 'Look, I just thought you had a right to know is all, I mean… I would want someone to tell me if-'

'Like _hell_,' Johnny spat. 'You just want to make a joke out of me, don't you? Same way you did to that Ted kid. Everyone's laughing now. Everyone's laughing at Johnny Vincent. Well I can tell you that they won't stay laughing for long, got that? I'm the _King_ around here! The _King_!'

Elliott winced. 'Okay! Okay! I get it! Just… let go of me…'

'I need to know why you told me!'

'I just… Johnny come on man, chill out. You're hurting me.'

Johnny pushed his face closer to hers, his eyes practically glazed with anger. 'Tell me or God help you I'll make you tell me.'

'It's because I told her too.'

Both Elliott and Johnny looked up in surprise to see Gary leaning over the rail above them. He grinned and waved his fingers at Elliott. Immediately Johnny let go of her and stared up at Gary angrily.

'Oh yeah? You're in on it too, huh? The pair of you working against me. You sneaky bastards-'

'Come on, Johnny,' Gary half laughed. 'What would we want from you? All we want to see is the Preps get trashed.'

Johnny opened his mouth to yell again but stopped and frowned. 'That's it? You just wanted me to fight the Preps?'

Gary shrugged. 'Yeah.'

Johnny pondered this for a moment. 'Why?'

Gary shrugged again. 'We wanted to see a fight. Didn't we, Elle?'

Elliott was still badly shaken. She only nodded.

Johnny frowned at Gary and then looked uncertainly at Elliott. 'You're both weird.' He walked up the stairs, frowning at Gary. 'I don't like this kid of shit, kid. Makes me uncomfortable.'

'Yeah, I saw.' Gary replied.

Johnny eyed him again and then glanced down at Elliott. 'Screw the pair of you. Pair of freaks…' He turned, shaking his head, and walked out of the alley. He looked back once to point at Gary. 'I'll be wanting words with you later, pal.'

Gary only saluted him. The Greaser scowled and disappeared around the corner. Elliott let out a long, shaky breath and rubbed her forehead with one hand. A moment later and she felt Gary touch her arm.

'Come on,' he told her. 'It stinks of nerd piss down here.'

Elliott snatched her arm away from him. 'Get off me.' She demanded, storming past him.

'What? What's your problem?' Gary chuckled, following her.

'I'm not doing this.' she shook her head. 'I'm not helping you mess with these psychopaths. I thought he was going to beat the crap out me there! If you hadn't turned up then he probably would have! I'm not doing it, Gary. You can help yourself because I'm out.'

Gary followed her and grabbed her arm. 'Elle, come on. He wouldn't have done anything…'

'Yeah? Well my arm is saying otherwise.' She lifted her sleeve and showed him the red ring around her wrist where Johnny had held her. She felt a lump rising in her throat and it made her angry. Angry that yet again someone had managed to scare the crap out of her. 'I'm sick of this place, Gary! I'm so sick of it! I'm sick of having to watch over my shoulder all the time and I'm sick of being this big fucking _joke_ with everyone!' She impatiently wiped away the few tears that escaped from her eyes with the heel of her hand. 'I'm sick of being surrounded by insane people! I'm sick of the school, I'm sick of the kids, I'm sick of the teachers, I'm sick of _you_, I'm sick of _me_, I'm… I'm just _sick_!'

Gary chuckled again, but it was more sympathetic than usual. He pushed her arm gently. 'Hey man, you're freaking out.'

'Damn right I am!' Elliott sniffed, growing increasingly frustrated with herself. 'And now I'm _crying_. How pathetic is that? That stupid Greaseball made me cry.'

She felt Gary try to pull her into a hug but she pushed his arms down. Then an unexpected sob crept up on her, removing all her energy and the will to fight with him. He pulled her into a hug again and she sobbed on his shoulder, one arm hooked lazily around his waist and her other hand trapped between their bodies.

'Don't freak out on me now,' Gary told her gently. 'It'll be worth it. I promise. Just stick with me, okay?'

She sniffed loudly and nodded. After managing to compose herself she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. He tilted his head to try and see her face, but she tried to hide away from him beneath her hair.

'Have you finished throwing a tantrum?' he smirked. 'Because I'm going to have to go and get a new shirt seeing as this one is covered in frigging spit and mucus.'

Elliott laughed a little as she wiped his eyes. She shoved him weakly. 'Like you own another shirt.'

He chuckled and shoved her back. 'Come on. If we stand here much longer Rudy might try and make us sit on his laps.'

Without really thinking about it, Elliott hooked her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. He said nothing, and the two of them started walking back to school.


	23. Just Some Friendly Intervention

**Chapter XXIII:**

**"Just Some Friendly Intervention"**

It was Christmas Day. Probably the only day of the year when she didn't have to get up early for classes or anything. She had planned on enjoying her lie as long as possible, but she knew that at some point she would have to go and make an appearance at the cafeteria for the Christmas lunch that Crabblesnitch had organised. Apparently it was essential for every student to attend, but Elliott already knew there would only be about five kids there when she got there. The only reason she was going was because she had heard that Edna was away for the holidays, which meant they were getting the food from a catering company instead. Which meant it would actually be edible, and Elliott hadn't had a decent meal in weeks.

But it was only ten, and she had at least another hour and a half before she even had to think about getting up. For once, Elliott had her peace.

A knock at the door roused her from her late morning doze and she grumbled irritably, pulling the duvet over her head. The invader knocked again, making her exhale sharply.

'What?' she demanded in a muffled, throaty voice.

The door creaked open. 'Elliott?' Beatrice's tentative voice enquired. 'Are you up?'

'If by up you mean awake and out of bed then no.' Elliott replied. 'I'm sleeping like a baby on horse tranquillisers. Come back tomorrow.'

Beatrice entered regardless, closing the door behind her. 'I just wanted to talk to you.'

Elliott sighed again and pushed the duvet from her head. She made a big show about turning over in bed so she could see Beatrice and squinted at her groggily. 'I left those biology notes on your desk.' She told her. 'And I didn't crease them.'

Beatrice perched herself on the edge of the spare bed near the door and rubbed her nose. Even with her bleary eyes Elliott could see that her cold sores were acting up again. 'I know, I got them.' Beatrice replied. 'I didn't want to talk about that…'

'Then I'm pretty sure it can wait.' Elliott grunted, rolling on her back. 'Give me two hours.'

'I'm worried about you.'

Elliott stared at the back of her eyelids for a few moments before pushing herself up on her elbows and frowning at Beatrice. 'Worried?'

Beatrice shifted uncomfortably. 'You've been awfully quiet since the Christmas party.' She replied. 'And… well… I heard that you've been spending most of your free time with Gary…'

'So?' Elliott's frown deepened. 'Do you have a problem with that?'

Beatrice sighed lighted and tilted her head. 'Well… yeah. I think you're being messed around and… And don't think that I think you're stupid or you can't see it or anything but… well, Gary likes to manipulate people. He likes to get people to do his dirty work for him. I started Bullworth at the same time as him and I don't think you realise just what he's capable of…'

Elliott lay down again. 'Beatrice, just come back later okay? I'm trying to sleep.'

'Listen, please.' Beatrice pleaded. 'I know you've had a rough start here. Probably rougher than most and all you want is someone who is nice to you and… I'd like to think that we're friends and if I was doing something wrong without realising then I'd hope that you would try and do something about it too…'

Losing patience, Elliott propped herself up again. 'Something wrong?' she repeated. 'I'll tell you what you're doing wrong. You're coming in here like Mother frigging Theresa and telling me how to act and who not to talk to when you're sitting there in your Velcro fastening shoes and your big glasses and your pink bow. Who are you, _Miss Bullworth_? Like you would have any idea about the best way to get through this shit hole in one piece.' She flopped down again and rolled over so she had her back to the other girl. 'Now if you don't mind I'm trying to pretend I'm in Disneyland or Spain or anywhere that's not here.'

The silence that fell upon the room was deafening. It seemed even more silent than before Beatrice had came in. After a few long moments, the bed springs creaked as Beatrice stood up.

'Fine. Merry Christmas.' She mumbled, and pulled open the door.

Elliott closed her eyes and sighed. She rolled over, expression apologetic. 'Beatrice, I-'

Beatrice closed the bedroom door after her firmly. Elliott looked at it for a moment before lying down again. So much for a peaceful lie in.

* * *

It was hard to enjoy Christmas when you knew your mother was off partying in Tokyo with her new beau and your father was probably sitting alone in front of the TV with a beer and enjoying every peaceful minute. It wasn't as if every single one of Elliott's Christmases had been perfect. Last year two of her cousins had started fist fighting at the dinner table. Food went everywhere. Elliott vividly remembered being smacked in the face with a joint of ham.

But still, Christmas was supposed to be a time for family. Elliott couldn't think of a single person at Bullworth who she would want to class as family.

The Christmas lunch was set for one thirty. There were kids wandering all over campus even though it was just after one thirty. Most of them seemed to be heading towards the school building though, so Elliott followed. She felt guilty for verbally attacking Beatrice the way she had done, but it was a combination of things that made her lose her head. The fact it was Christmas, the Johnny Vincent episode yesterday… probably a few other things that she had done nothing but complain about since arriving here. But still, those weren't good reasons to why she had lost it the way she had. The reason she had lost it was because a small part of her had thought Beatrice was right.

But the rest of her said it was nonsense. After all, Elliott wasn't stupid. She could tell when she was getting played.

She walked behind two little kids (Pedro and Melody, she thought their names were) and headed inside the school building. Already she could hear the sounds of malicious laughter and desperate pleading coming from the cafeteria. She didn't particularly want to sit in a room with everyone in the school, but her stomach said otherwise. And something smelled pretty good.

Just as she was about to head into the cafeteria she heard a quick whistle. She looked around, hoping that it wasn't directed at her, but then saw the blonde bully Trent swaggering towards her. She rolled her eyes and turned to continue into the cafeteria but found someone blocking her path.

'Hey, baby,' Wade Martin grinned. 'Merry Christmas.'

Elliott crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation. 'Whatever. Can you move please?'

'I can move closer if that's what you like.' Wade grinned, taking a step forward.

Elliott put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. 'That's close enough, buddy.' She glanced around to see the last of the kids disappearing into the cafeteria. Great, because of these two morons she was going to be stuck with a crappy seat. Knowing her luck it would be between Mandy Wiles and Ted Thompson. 'You want me to say Merry Christmas? Then Merry frigging Christmas.' She went to push past Wade but skidded to a halt when she felt a swift pat on her backside. She whirled around and glared at Trent. 'You did _not_ just do that.'

Trent produced something from his pocket and waved it above his head. 'Come on,' he grinned. 'Get in the festive spirit.'

Elliott grimaced at the mistletoe. 'It's going to take a lot more than a twig to make me kiss you. Think more along the lines of sedatives and restraints.'

Trent just grinned. 'I can do that for ya if that's what you're in to.'

'Oh piss off.' Elliott growled, turning away. 'Go play in the traffic-'

Trent grabbed her suddenly and pulled her forward. Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, Trent had pushed his lips against hers. She stared, wide eyed. Behind, Wade Martin laughed hysterically. When her shocked paralysis finally went, she thrust her knee upwards, catching Trent right were it hurt.

The boy let out a wheeze and stumbled back, cupping his groin. 'Oooohh…' he groaned.

Wade laughed louder, doubling over and smacking his knee. Elliott wiped her mouth in disgust and jabbed a finger at Trent. 'You _dare_ touch me again and everyone will be calling _you_ Post-Op after what I've ripped off.'

Trent knelt on the floor, groaning. 'It was… worth it…' he groaned.

Wade had to lean against the wall to keep himself upright he was laughing so hard. Elliott turned on him, fists clenched. 'You want some too?' she demanded.

Wade waved his hand but couldn't reply because of his laughter. Elliott glared at the pair of them and then marched away down the corridor, away from the cafeteria. Wade's laughs echoed after her, along with Trent's groaning. She felt completely violated, and to make matters worse she could still taste cigarette smoke from Trent's mouth.

She went into the girl's bathroom stood around the corner, trying to force herself to calm down. Thank God no one had seen that. But no doubt Trent would go around telling everyone that they made out or something, so 'tramp' would probably be added onto her already quite impressive list of character traits in this dump. Somewhere between gender bending and lesbian, she reckoned.

'Merry frigging Christmas indeed.' She mumbled, moving to the mirror.

Elliott turned on the taps and watched the water swirling down the plughole for a moment. With a sigh she put her hands under the water and glanced up to her reflection. At the sight of the other person behind her she let out a squeal and whirled around.

'_Christ_! What's with people sneaking up on me in this dump?'

Jimmy Hopkins shrugged. 'Maybe you should keep an eye on what's going on around you.'

Elliott leaned against the basin and wiped her hands on her sweater to dry them. 'You are aware that this is the girl's bathroom, aren't you? Or were you hoping you'd catch someone with their pants down?'

Jimmy frowned. 'Hey, I'm not some little perv, right?'

Elliott laughed humourlessly. 'Right,' she replied sarcastically. 'What is it then, did you come in here to have a little cry? All this tough guy stuff finally getting to you, huh?' She turned back to the mirror and checked her reflection. 'Go ahead, I won't tell anyone you needed a little alone time.'

Jimmy scowled. 'Man, you're even starting to _sound_ like him.'

She scowled back at him through the mirror. 'What do you want?'

'I want _you_ to see sense, man!' Jimmy told her, beginning to pace a little in aggravation. 'I want you to see that Gary is a psycho! I keep hearing all this stuff about how Gary only shows his face around you and then I hear that you had something to do with Johnny Vincent getting all paranoid over Lola.'

Elliott glanced away in boredom. 'Johnny who?'

'I saw him yelling at you yesterday.' Jimmy told her. 'I'm not an idiot.'

'Could have fooled me.'

'You know what? It's your problem. If you want to be messed around by that creep then go ahead. But if you start messing around in my dealings then I'll do something about it, okay?'

Elliott shook her head in annoyance. 'Since when are you such a big shot, anyway? Not everything revolves around you, you know. So you and Gary don't get along, big frigging deal. Maybe if you didn't go around beating ten piles of shit out of everyone then you'd get along with more people.'

'You'll see it sooner or later.' Jimmy told her. 'He's just a user. Just wait until he skips his meds or something and you'll see what he's really like. He's insane. He wants to rule the school.'

'And you don't?'

'No! I just want to be left alone!'

'Then maybe you should stop picking fights with people and bugging me.' Elliott headed for the door. 'I know what I'm doing.'

'Obviously you don't, Jimmy told her. 'Or else I wouldn't have to say this.'

She turned around and scowled at him. 'What is everyone's problem? Why does everyone have something to say about what I do? You want to know the reason why I hang around with Gary? Yeah he's obviously about as stable as a two legged horse but he doesn't stand around telling me how I should frigging act. And he's done a lot more for me than anyone else here.'

'That's because he _wants_ you to trust him!' Jimmy insisted, obviously frustrated. 'You have no idea what kind of person he is. You know what his idea of fun is? Torturing that homeless guy that lives behind the bus. Tormenting little Pete Kowalski. He lured me down to the Hole to fight Russell! Do you know where he was yesterday afternoon? He had the Greaser's running around after Algie and Chad. He's a sneaky, scheming little bastard and all he wants is to have everyone under his thumb, including you. And obviously you're stupid enough to be taken in by it.'

'Fuck you, Jimmy.' Elliott shot at him angrily and walked out of the bathroom.

'I'm not finished.' Jimmy told her, following her.

'Well I am.' Elliott replied, storming away. 'Go back to your dorm and scream into your pillow if it's bothering you that much.'

He stopped following her and jerked his arms in exasperation. 'Just a bit of friendly advice,' he called after her. 'Keep your eye on him if you know what's good for you.'

Elliott ignored him, jaw clenched so tightly that her face was beginning to hurt. She shoved past little Sheldon to get out of the building, ignoring the little boy's shrill announcement that he was going to tell on her. Outside she sucked in a deep breath. She decided that she needed to get out of here. It was driving her insane.

She hurried down the steps towards the gate. If she had looked up at the second floor when she had been storming away from Jimmy, she would have seen Gary up there having caught the end of their conversation.


	24. Spontaneity Makes A Life Worth Living

**A/N: Apologies if there are loads of typos in this. I'd already written it once but my computer crashed out and I lost half of it, so I left it until some stupid late time to re-write it and, well, I'm half asleep lol. I just didn't want to wait until the morning :P**

* * *

**Chapter XXIV:**

**"Spontaneity Makes A Life Worth Living"**

Elliott slammed her dorm door shut angrily, then decided it hadn't made a loud enough bang and reopened it to slam it for a second time. Then because that small act of violence hadn't used up her anger she turned and kicked the wastepaper basket, leaving a big dent in the side of it. It didn't work as well as she had planned as she managed to hurt her toes in the process. With a heavy sigh she threw herself down on the spare bed nearest the door and stared up at the ceiling. Then she remembered that she was missing Christmas lunch, which only continued to sour her increasingly degenerating mood. Elliott grabbed the pillow from beneath her head, pulled it over her face and proceeded to scream into it. Then she added some curse words for good measure.

When she was quite sure she had finished she sat up and smoothed down her hair. On reflection she was quite surprised that Jimmy had managed to make her so angry. He hadn't really said anything new. But that was probably the problem; everyone was saying the same thing. Well, apart from Christy, but there was probably something wrong with her head anyway.

Elliott hadn't really thought about Gary as anything other than someone who occasionally popped up to torment her every now and then before everyone started interfering. Now that everyone was telling her to steer clear of him she wanted to see him more. But then again that was how teenage girls were programmed; the Forbidden Fruit and all that nonsense.

The stupid thing was that Elliott didn't even find Gary all that appealing. He was rude and malicious, scheming and immature, and not really all that attractive but… oh Hell she might as well just come to terms with it; she _did_ like him. Quite a bit actually. She just wished she knew what invisible force was drawing her to him so she could cut it and destroy these irritating fluffy feelings that popped up in her head when she thought about him. Avoiding him was out of the question because he was practically (at least since this morning) her only friend in the whole school, and the childish part of her didn't want to give Jimmy Hopkins the satisfaction.

What about telling him? Maybe he would quit popping up as much if he knew that she was crushing on him. She cringed at the idea and quickly pushed it out of her mind. Too many excruciatingly embarrassing scenarios could come out of that. Knowing him he would laugh and proceed to taunt her mercilessly about it. She didn't even want to consider the possibility that he might say the same thing back to her. No, the best thing to do was to just carry on as normal, or whatever classed as normal in this place. Hiding in her room was certainly _not_ normal.

Elliott got up and moved to the door, having to tug it harder than she usually did because of the force in which she had slammed it. It opened with a jerk and she stumbled back a little. Good job too, or else Gary would probably have walked right into her.

'What were you talking about?' he demanded, walking into the room.

Elliott blinked at him in surprise and then peered out into the corridor. The place was deserted. 'What?' she asked, turning her attention back to Gary.

He was pacing and fidgeting. 'I saw you, with him, back there.' He told her, frowning deeply. 'What was it about?'

For some reason Elliott's mind went back to Trent's tactless flirting rather than Jimmy. 'Um, I-'

'Because if we're honest,' Gary went on, looking angry. 'You hanging around in the bathroom with Jimmy doesn't bode well in my book.'

Elliott raised her chin in realisation. 'Oh, _Jimmy_. Oh he was just being a little jerk.' She watched him pacing and frowned slightly. 'What's wrong with you?'

'Don't lie to me, Elliott.' Gary frowned, taking a step in her direction and then continuing to pace. 'And don't try to avoid the subject. What were you _saying_?'

Elliott looked at him for a moment and realised what was happening here. She half laughed. 'You think I was conspiring with Jimmy in the bathroom?'

He looked at her, eyes blazing. 'Well were you?'

She laughed. 'No! Gary, I hate that little bastard. Even more so after today!' She watched him, seeing that he was still furious. 'Seriously, man. He was just being a jerk.'

Gary frowned at her or about ten seconds in silence, and then he seemed to relax a minute. He turned away, still looking a little troubled, and put his hands in his pockets. 'Yeah, Jimmy is a scum bag.' He muttered.

Elliott sat on the edge of the bed but kept her eyes on him warily. 'I went in the bathroom to get away from that asshole Trent and Jimmy must have followed me in.'

Gary laughed humourlessly. 'I bet he was going for a cry.'

Elliott couldn't help but half smile. 'That's what I said. Anyway he…' She stopped herself, wondering if repeating the conversation to Gary would be a very good idea. 'He was just being a jerk.' She finished.

Gary still didn't look completely satisfied, but he had visibly relaxed. 'Well that's okay then.' He shot her a fiery look. 'Because you do know he's the enemy, don't you? We can't trust that little thug.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Why do you even bother with him? Man I don't understand either of you. You're acting like crazy people. Why do you hate him so much anyway?'

'Because he's probably going to try and kill me if he gets his hands on me.' Gary replied, scowling. 'And I'd rather I got the chance to kill him first.'

Elliott shot him a wary look. 'You are just exaggerating, aren't you?'

He seemed to drift off in thought for a moment, but when he returned the anger he had displayed when he had first entered had completely vanished. 'What are you hiding away in here for anyway? It's Christmas day.'

Elliott half laughed. 'Give me something that doesn't involve anyone who goes to this school and I'll come out.'

'That reminds me, I got you something.' Gary moved to the door and gestured or her to follow him. 'Come on.'

Elliott hesitated. 'It isn't two naked people in the equipment shed again, is it?'

He shot her a cheeky look. 'If that's the kind of thing your after…'

She pushed him good-naturedly out of the door, half laughing. 'In your dreams, buddy.'

* * *

It was just before they reached the bridge that lead across to Bullworth Town when the first Jock gave away his position. Elliott didn't spot him right away, but Gary did. When she thought back later it seemed like he knew they were there before the first one appeared, like he could sense their impending attack or something.

Damon West stepped out from the narrow path that led down to the small beach, already slapping his fist against the palm of his hand. 'Well, well, well,' he smirked. 'Looks like we got us a couple of Christmas presents.'

Elliott looked around in alarm to see three others appear behind them. Another two stepped out to join Damon's side; Kirby and Juri. She glanced to Gary to see his reaction, but he was just frowning deeply.

'The pair of you are taking one hell of a risk comin' out when there's the Prefects are having themselves an easy day.' Damon continued, dark eyes flickering between Gary and Elliott. 'You should be countin' your lucky stars that Ted decided to stay in today.'

'Look,' Elliott said, glancing around warily. 'We don't want any trouble, okay?'

'Well you should of thought about that before you screwed up Ted the way you did!' Kirby challenged, shaking one fist. 'We ain't stupid, you know. We know it was the two of you that set him up to look stupid. Even if Mandy won't say so.'

'You _ain't_ stupid, huh?' Gary smirked. His tone was amused but his expression was dark. 'Well it took you two weeks to realise that it was us that did that.'

'You shut your smart mouth you little psycho.' Damon told him. 'As much as I'd like to teach your little girlfriend a lesson, I ain't no lady beater, so you're the one who's going to be getting the beatdown for this one.'

Gary just rolled his eyes. 'Don't you have some communal showers to be sharing?'

Damon grabbed him roughly by the front of his shirt. 'I told you to shut your smart mouth.'

Gary just chuckled. 'Man, I've seen turds with more smarts than the six of you combined.'

'Give him his poundcake, Damon!' one of the Jocks behind yelled, punching the air impatiently.

'Hey, hey!' Elliott yelled, raising her hands. 'Just chill out, okay? There's no need to resort to this. It didn't do any damage, did it? And Mandy got me back!'

'Yeah right,' Damon snorted. 'She ain't nowhere finished with you yet.'

'Ain't nowhere finished?' Gary echoed, still smirking despite being held tightly by the collar of the giant Jock. 'Now does that mean she is finished, or she's not finished? Because those pesky double negatives get me in a twist sometimes.'

Damon blinked at him and then frowned in confusion. 'Shut up, you little crap bucket.' He snarled. 'Man, I been looking forward to this for too long.'

Elliott frowned as Damon raised his fist. Even if Gary was still grinning in the face of an inevitable mouthful of broken teeth, she wasn't going to just sit by and let this happen. Without thinking fully about the consequences, she moved forward and kicked the large Jock as hard as she could in the back of her leg.

Both she and Damon yelled out at the same time. Damon yelled because his leg bent in an unnatural direction and Elliott yelled because it felt like she had just kicked a stone wall. The other Jocks yelled in outrage and lunged for her, but Gary reached her first. He grabbed her hand and dragged her along the pavement towards the town.

When she regained her balance she still couldn't run properly. As she limped along behind Gary she realised that he had broken something in her foot. But still if she stopped, she would probably end up with a lot more broken bones. Above the sound of the Jocks yelling as they gave chase, she heard another strange sound. It took her a moment to realise what it was. It was Gary laughing.

_Hooting_, in fact.

'For a bunch of athletes you can't run very fast!' he yelled over his shoulder. 'Maybe you all spent too long in those showers this morning!'

'Don't think we're gonna let this lie!' Kirby yelled after them. 'We're gonna _kill_ you!'

Elliott looked over her shoulder to see that the Jocks had given up chase and were returning to their fallen companion. Just for safety's sake, Gary and Elliott continued running until they reached the alley behind the bike shop. With a hiss of pain, Elliott leaned against the wall and lifted her foot.

'Oh man…' she breathed. 'That was close. _Too_ frigging close. If they catch us we're dead.'

Gary peered around the corner to check that they had really stopped chasing them. He turned back to her, his eyes practically blazing with adrenaline. 'Nothing we can't deal with.' He grinned.

Elliott's eyebrows shot up. 'Are you kidding? They're made of stone or something. I'm pretty sure my foot is crushed. Seriously Gary, we're dead. They catch us and-'

For the second time that day, Elliott felt the warmth of another person's lips on hers. She blinked in surprise, too bewildered by the sudden action to react properly. After a second, Gary pulled back and smiled.

'Seriously, we're fine.' He told her.

Elliott blinked again, and then smiled coyly. 'If you say so.' She replied, trying to hide how much she was blushing.

He pointed down at her foot, apparently not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed about the spontaneous kiss. 'We should really go and get your foot seen to.'

'Yeah, it would probably be a good idea.'

He grinned at her again. 'Last thing we need is you falling to pieces.'

Elliott nodded and allowed him to put an arm around her waist. She limped out of the alley, using him as support.

'Is this your worst Christmas yet?' he asked.

She half smiled at him. 'I've had worse.'


	25. Through Rose Tinted Glasses

**Chapter XXV:**

**"Through Rose Tinted Glasses"**

'You're looking considerably chipper taking you have a fractured foot.' Nurse McRae commented with half her nose wrinkled disapprovingly. 'You are aware that you're going to have it in a cast for about two weeks.'

Sitting propped up on the rock hard bed in the infirmary, Elliott only shrugged and smiled. 'Could be worse.'

The nurse snorted as she turned to search for the plaster to begin making the cast. 'For you, maybe. You know I have a hundred and one things I would much rather be doing than tending to reckless tearaways on Christmas day. It wouldn't kill you little cockroaches to have a little consideration once in a while.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Well I'm sorry for breaking my foot and interrupting your day. How rude of me.'

Nurse McRae returned with a bandage and lifted Elliott's foot, then deliberately allowed it to drop back onto the bed. Elliott let out a cry of pain, jerking upright.

'Sorry,' the nurse said insincerely. 'How clumsy of me.'

Elliott scowled at the aged nurse and sat back again. She watched, disgruntled, as her foot was bandaged up. She remained silent and watched as the cast was applied. It was tight and uncomfortable, but it wasn't the first time she had had a cast on.

'You'll have to keep it dry.' Nurse McRae told her, going to the sink to wash her hands. 'And I have a pair of crutches you can use. Do _not_ use them to beat the other kids or I'll take them from you and you can hobble around like a cripple.'

Elliott grimaced. 'Crutches? Are you kidding?'

'What do you want me to do, carry you around the campus? You can't walk on that unless you're after a clubfoot. Now stop being a brat and get out of my infirmary so I can at least pretend to enjoy the rest of the day.'

Elliott slid off the bed, balanced on one leg. 'Don't I have to wait for it to dry or something?'

Nurse McRae sighed heavily. 'Do you want me to stand here blowing on it for you?' She moved to the corner and grabbed the two battered wooden crutches that rested there. 'Now run along. Stop wasting my time.'

Elliott took one of the crutches and slipped in under her arm. 'Sorry for making you do your job.' She muttered, hopping towards the door.

'You cheeky little rat,' Nurse McRae spat. 'I'm going to tell Dr Crabblesnitch about your ungrateful attitude.'

Elliott rolled her eyes again and let herself out. The door slammed behind her and she faintly heard the nurse cursing her on the other side. She looked down at her plastered foot, then at the crutch and finally at the snow.

'Well,' she murmured. 'This is going to be a laugh.'

Steadying herself she began to make her way towards the Girl's Dorm. _Look on the bright side_, she told herself, _At least I get out of Gym_.

* * *

As Elliott sat in the lounge area of the Girl's Dorm and watched the girls returning from the Christmas lunch she decided it was probably a good thing that she hadn't made it inside the cafeteria. All of the girls were covered in various foodstuffs, mainly gravy and vegetables, although Christy Martin had a nice chunk of meat in her hair. They all bustled past, too busy moaning and whining about the apparent food fight to notice Elliott sitting with a cast on. She watched everyone go by until she saw Beatrice and went to stand up, temporarily forgetting about her broken foot. She lost her balance and thumped back down on the chair.

'Hey, Beatrice!' she called, waving one hand.

Beatrice glanced around, gravy splattered on one side of her glasses and a piece of carrot in her hair. She glanced away awkwardly. 'I need to clean up, Elliott.' She said.

'Just a minute, man,' Elliott pleaded. 'You'll never get to a sink with everyone in there.'

Beatrice glanced after the other girls, contemplating this. Realising that Elliott was probably right, she sighed and slumped her shoulders. 'Well, I don't really want to talk to you right now…'

Elliott tilted her head. 'Please, come on.'

Beatrice paused again, glancing away. When she looked back she noticed the cast on her foot and frowned slightly. 'What have you done?' She moved into the sitting area and perched on the edge of the couch.

'I kicked something hard and stupid.' Elliott replied. 'My own fault I think. Anyway, I just want to apologise. I didn't mean what I said this morning, I was just… oh man, I don't know. I guess being a jerk must be in my blood or something. But…' She paused to sigh. 'I like having you as a friend, Beatrice. You're the only halfway sane person in this dump and, well, you've been pretty much the only reason why I haven't completely lost the plot in the last couple of weeks.'

Beatrice was looking down at her hands, fidgeting. 'Well… it's _my_ fault really,' she said, shrugging her shoulders. 'I mean, it's got nothing to do with me who you… _get involved with.._.'

Elliott half smiled. 'You were doing what's best. I appreciate it. But you don't have to worry about it. Apart from having a gang of bloodthirsty Jock's on my tail, every thing is peachy.'

Beatrice winced. 'Actually… you might take back that apology just yet…'

'What do you mean?'

'I may have… kind of… put your name down to do the after school study classes for the little kids.' She lifted her head and spoke quickly before she could be interrupted. 'I was really angry with you and I've never been very good at revenge and the only thing I could think of was to get you to do extra work, because I know how much you hate work so I put your name down and… well, you'll basically be helping the little kids out with their work in the library for the next couple of weeks…'

Elliott stared at her for a moment. 'You're kidding.' She said flatly.

'I'm really sorry,' Beatrice told her. 'I just… my entire judgement was shrouded in this… this terrible veil of malicious anger and it was _awful_ but I could control it and before I knew it your name was on the list and I couldn't find my eraser and then Miss Danvers took it and…'

Elliott rubbed her head. 'It's okay,' she said in a strained voice. 'It's… I probably deserve it. Don't worry about it.' She paused and then narrowed one eye. 'How long is a couple of weeks?'

Beatrice winced again. 'About a month?'

Elliott breathed in through her nostrils. 'Right. Well that's okay. How hard can it be to teach a couple of little kids?'

'I am so sorry, really I don't know what came over me-'

'Don't get your panties in a twist over it,' Elliott told her. 'Seriously, I'm glad. It means we're even.'

Beatrice slumped, relieved that she had told her. 'Well, I can help too. I'll make it so I'm doing most of the work.'

'Don't be an idiot.' Elliott said, grabbing her crutch and getting up. 'I'll do my fair share. Now go clean yourself up or something. Is that cauliflower in your hair?'

Beatrice stood up. 'Okay. Well, I'll come find you when I'm cleaned up. Although you won't be able to go far with your foot…'

'Just come find me.' Elliott smiled. 'I'll be out the front somewhere.'

Beatrice smiled, looking like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. 'Okay. Well… see you.'

Elliott nodded in return and went to the door, already hopping easily on the crutches. Outside she hesitated at the top of the steps, and carefully made her way down. Once at the bottom, she frowned pointedly at Gary, who had been waiting for her and smirking at her attempts to get down the steps.

'You could have helped.' She said, shifting the crutch under her arm to a more comfortable position. 'I bet you would have just laughed if I had fell.'

'So did you talk to her?' he asked, only smirking a little further at her annoyance.

Elliott nodded. 'Yeah, we're cool now. Although I was tempted to tell her to sling her hook after she told me she's signed me up for some after school help class for the little kids.'

'In the library?' Gary asked, his eyes brightening.

'Yeah. And it's going to last a _month_. A frigging month.'

Gary just nodded and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'That will probably work out better… that's brilliant actually.'

'I'm glad you're so happy that I have double the work.' Elliott muttered.

'Don't you see? If you're spending most of your time at the library you can get on an even better par with the Nerds. If we're serious about this then we need them on our side.'

'The Nerds? What can they do?'

'You'd be surprised. If we lose them to Jimmy then we've had it.' Gary paused to think for a moment. 'You're still up for it, aren't you? Infiltrating the Nerds, I mean.'

'Yeah.' Elliott nodded. 'Sure.'

'Good. _Great_. This is going to be brilliant.' He flashed her a broad grin. 'You just stick to your side of the plan, okay? Get them on good terms. Edgar is the one you have to win over, but you could probably do that by dropping your pencil in front of him or something.'

Elliott lowered one eyebrow. 'I'm not sticking my ass out to get some Nerds to like me.'

Gary just turned his head and chuckled. 'You know you love it.'

She just shook her head, laughing. 'Okay, so I'm winning the Nerds over. What will you be doing?'

'Don't you worry about that just yet.' He replied. 'I'll be busy. And because I've got a few things to sort out I might not see you around as much.'

Elliott had to work hard to prevent her disappointment showing. 'Oh?'

Gary shook his head and began to pace a little. 'I've got to do some planning, and talk to some people. Might take a while. And it seems you and I have been hot topic around here for a few days. We don't want so much attention, you understand? We'll keep our heads down for a week or so, until everyone's forgotten. They've got brains of dead fish around here so it shouldn't take long for them to forget.'

'What about the Jocks though?'

'I'll deal with them. Like I said, you just stick with your part. I'll deal with the rest of it.'

Elliott nodded. 'So… um… When do you think we'll be, y'know, seeing each other again?' She shifted uncomfortably. She had never been particularly talented at acting casual in these kinds of situations.

Gary just smiled. 'Pretty soon.'

'Okay.' She shrugged. 'Just, I might go mad spending all my time with Nerds, you know? Next time you see me I might be in a green sweater and playing frigging Grottos and Gremlins. They might convert me or something.'

'Just don't go fooling around with Algie.'

Elliott snorted. 'As if.' She hesitated, glancing up at him. After a moment of neither of them speaking, she found herself saying, 'I'm serious about this, you know. I'm not going to change my mind again.'

'I know.' He lingered a moment longer and then patted her waist. 'See ya.'

She watched him head away, feeling a little bit saddened at the prospect of not seeing him as much. But she knew it was necessary if they wanted this plan to work out. And hell, they were in a boarding school. She would probably still see him nearly every day.

Still, she was disheartened. She leaned against the wall by the steps and sighed, cursing herself for being too much of a wimp to kiss him like he had kissed her in the alley.


	26. The Freak Magnet

**Chapter XXVI:**

**"The Freak Magnet"**

'Seriously, man. You can't find the nouns in that sentence? It's really not that hard.'

Little Pedro De La Hoya looked like he was ready to burst into tears. He wiped the back of his hand across his nose and shrugged his shoulders. 'I did my best!' he insisted. 'I was trying to remember what you told me yesterday but the bigger boys were kicking my door and I couldn't concentrate and then I heard Russell…'

Elliott massaged her forehead with her thumb and forefinger. 'Okay, okay.' She said, trying her best not to repeatedly bang her head off the wooden desk. 'We'll just have to go over what we did yesterday again. I'll mean we're even further behind schedule but…'

'I'll remember this time, I swear.' Pedro insisted, looking up at her with wide, puppy-dog eyes. 'I'll do my best, ma'am.'

'And stop calling me ma'am.' Elliott sat up again and flicked through the file for the sheet they had been working on yesterday. She put it on top of the sheet they had supposed to be working on and circled the first sentence before handing the pencil to Pedro. 'Okay, let's see how much you remember.'

Pedro squinted hard at the sentence, eyebrows straining to touch in the middle. After what felt like a full minute, Pedro asked, 'I'm looking for the nouns, right?'

Elliott slapped her hand on her face in exasperation. 'Yes, Pedro.'

Pedro turned back to the sheet and tentatively put his pencil on the first word. He hesitated, and then circled the second word. Elliott breathed a sigh of relief.

'See? You can do it. You just need to concentrate.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

She started to tell him to stop calling her ma'am again, but decided that there was no point. She pushed herself up out of the chair and patted him on the shoulder. 'See if you can do the rest. I'm going to get a soda.'

Elliott left her crutch leaning against the desk and hopped across to the soda machine by the door. She had been tutoring little Pedro for nearly three full days now and her patience was beginning to wear thin. It didn't help that she had never really liked kids and that she absolutely _hated _repeating herself. But she couldn't back out of this even if she wanted to. Crabblesnitch had said if she decided to give up on tutoring the little kids then she would have to tutor some of the older kids; more specifically the Jocks. Elliott may have been getting sick of the little kids, but she certainly didn't have a death wish.

She scooped the few coins out of her pocket and poked at them glumly. Great, she didn't even have a dollar left to buy a drink. And now that she knew she couldn't have one she was even thirstier.

'Greetings!' Melvin beamed as he stepped up beside her. 'Do I see a damsel in distress?'

Elliott looked at him strangely. One thing she had learned since spending more time in the library was that the Nerds were practically a different species. They had their own weird language and everything. 'Oh. Hey Melvin.' She mumbled, returning her attention to the money in her hand.

'Doth thou require assistance?' Melvin enquired, gesturing to the soda machine.

Elliott shrugged. 'Not really. Although thou could doth with a dollar if you've got one handy.'

Melvin blinked at her, as if not understanding what she said. Then he managed to regain his flimsy grip on reality and put his hand in his pocket. 'Oh, yes. Of course. Anything for a fair maiden such as yourself.'

Elliott smiled wanly and deposited the dollar in the machine. 'Thanks.' She muttered, and took the soda can and hopped back to the desk where Pedro was waiting.

'I think I did it.' Pedro said unsurely, pushing the sheet to her.

'Let me see,' Elliott replied, and scanned the page. After checking the second sentence she closed her eyes for a moment. 'Pedro… Look, I want you to be honest with me, okay? Because at this rate we'll never get done. Are you just pretending you understand because you think that's what I want to hear?'

Pedro cowered a little. 'No, ma'am! I swear I know, I just…' He trailed off under her stern frown. 'I might pick it up if you go over it again.'

Elliott shook her head. 'Gimme that pencil.'

Pedro handed her the pencil and watched as she went through the whole sheet, circling the words where appropriate. When she had finished that one she did the next sheets that were supposed to be kept for the next three days and then handed them all to Pedro.

'There.' She said, putting the pencil down. 'Done.'

Pedro beamed happily as he gathered up the papers. 'Oh thank you, ma'am! I really appreciate it! You're the best!' With that, he scampered off to the door, stumbling once due to his untied laces on his way out.

Elliott leaned back in her seat and rubbed her forehead. She sat there for a few moments, wondering why she was even still _doing_ this, when she suddenly got the feeling that she was being stared at. She stopped, and then peered over the top of her hand.

The scrawny, slightly frog-like Nerd who sat opposite her smiled sheepishly at her and waved a hand. 'Hello.' He said, voice breaking and hitting a high note halfway through. He swallowed, blushing slightly, and tried again. 'I… I mean hi. I don't think I've had the pleasure of seeing you around in the library all that often…'

Elliott groaned, unable to hold it in. Fantastic, she was being hit on by a Nerd.

'I couldn't help but notice your injured foot,' the Nerd went on, fidgeting with his jumper. 'May I enquire to what happened?'

'I tried to throw myself off the bridge after finding out I had to do tutoring in here.'

'Um… oh. Well, I…'

'I didn't.' Elliott sighed. 'I kicked something and broke it. My foot, I mean, not the thing I kicked, unfortunately.'

'Right. I'm Earnest, by the way. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you…'

Elliott picked up the can and cracked it open. 'Spare me the pleasantries, please. Is there something you want?'

Earnest looked at her with a kind of boy-like awe as she took a drink from the can. 'Well, I uh… Beatrice has told me a lot about you and it was my idea to get her to sign you up on the tutoring list…'

Elliott lowered the can and scowled. '_Your_ idea?'

'Please, just hear me out.' Earnest pleaded. 'You see, Beatrice was very angry and I didn't want her to do something she would regret so… well, I suggested adding you to the tutoring list and… well, you see… Basically it's a favour. For you.'

Elliott glared at him. 'You can't seriously believe that you thought you were doing me a favour signing me up to this… this torture?'

Earnest shook his head and his hands. 'No, no, _no_! You've got it all wrong! I heard you have been having a lot of trouble with the Jocks. You see, this is the only place where the Jocks won't tread. While you're here, they can't touch you! And also with you working hard doing this it means Crabblesnitch will look upon you with a newfound respect. So, let's say you were aiming for a high position in the student body…'

Elliott looked at him thoughtfully. 'Have you been talking to Gary?'

Earnest shrugged. 'He may have mentioned… something.' He seemed to straighten up and smiled smugly. 'He asked me to watch out for you.'

Elliott stifled a laugh. 'Oh well, thanks.'

He missed her sarcasm. 'You're extremely welcome.'

'So…' she paused to think it through a moment. 'Gary asked you to add me to the tutor list?'

'No, that was all my idea. Well… he may have _inspired _me somewhat…'

Elliott rolled her eyes and then surprised herself by realising she was slightly annoyed by the turnout. Why hadn't Gary just told her to join the tutoring group instead of setting it up like this? Perhaps he knew she would have laughed in his face and told him where to go. Well kudos to him.

'And anyway, I'm sure you'll very much enjoy life in the library. It can be quite exciting, you know. You should come and join us for a game of Grottos and Gremlins one night. When your foot is better, I mean. And if you wouldn't mind joining me, that is.'

Elliott looked away from the flustered Nerd and looked up in annoyance. 'Yeah, whatever.' She pushed herself out of the chair. 'Well I'm done tutoring today. Pedro suddenly had a stroke of genius and finished all his worksheets, which means I won't be back until Thursday…'

'Oh no,' Earnest shook his head. 'If you have finished with Pedro's English you have to move on to Biology.'

Elliott stared at him, and then laughed humourlessly. 'Uh, no. I helped him. The next kid I have to help is Melody.'

'No,' Earnest shook his head. 'It's Pedro. As well as English he needs help with Biology, Chemistry and History. I believe the timetable states that the two of you will be doing Biology tomorrow.'

Elliott could almost see how slowly the next month was going to crawl by. 'Well if that's the case then I'm going to bed now.' She put the crutch under her arm and shuffled to the door. 'Hopefully I won't wake up again.'

'Well, nice to finally talk to you, Elliott!' Earnest called after her. 'I'll uh… I'll look forward to our next meeting!'

Elliott shook her head and continued to the doors. Why the hell was she such a freak magnet? A month of hanging out in the library with Earnest's wandering eyes?

Gary better be right about all of this. If something good didn't come out of it, heads were going to roll.


	27. Calling A Truce

**Chapter XXVII:**

**"Calling A Truce"**

Elliott had been expecting to be bullied ruthlessly after having the cast applied to her foot, but either there was some unwritten rule somewhere or she had missed something entirely because hardly anyone had said a thing to her. Just yesterday Wade Martin had held the door open for her _without_ slamming it in her face. Even Kirby Olsen had patiently waiting as she hopped down the stairs before going up. Elliott was starting to think she had spent too long in the library. It was _her_ turn to lose her grip on reality.

She had been doing the tutoring group for a week and a half now. She was still working with little Pedro, and he still had no grasp on the idea that people have vital organs inside their bodies to keep them alive. She had no idea what was going on in his little head, but it certainly wasn't capable of doing biology. Despite the kids ignorance, she found herself having more patience with him. She had only hit him on the head with the file once yesterday. In the last week the weather had also warmed up. The snow was gone now, which was good news for her and her stupid crutch. However there was one thing that was troubling her.

She hadn't seen Gary in a whole week.

Elliott tried to tell herself that she didn't really care, but deep down she did. She couldn't help but wonder if he had just palmed her off on the library to keep her out of his way for a while. Could be that he was getting sick of her and that he was regretting involving her in the whole business in the first place.

_Like I'd care anyway_, she thought bitterly as she hopped towards the Girl's Dorm. She didn't allow herself to get caught up over boys. She resented the kind of girls who did nothing but moan and blubber about how boys didn't like them, or their certain target was off with someone else…

But still, it would be nice just to see him once.

Elliott was too wrapped up in these thoughts to notice the two girls waiting for her around the corner in the yard in front of the dorm. She hopped right past them, oblivious as Pinky prodded Mandy in the arm and pointed to her.

'Hey!' Mandy called to her.

Elliott glanced around, blinking, and then groaned at the sight of the two girls. 'Oh come on, Mandy. I get that you're a bitch but you can't seriously want to beat the crap out of someone with a crutch.'

Mandy crossed her arms and looked at the battered crutch. 'Damon has to sit out of the next game you know,' she said. 'He's got a whole bunch of torn ligaments after you kicked him.'

'I would love to care, but I'm consumed with apathy.' Elliott shrugged. 'Seeing as I'm the one who got _broken_.' She sighed and leaned on the crutch. 'Come on then, start throwing the threats and the insults. Get it over with. Actually, do you mind if I sit down while you do it?'

Mandy glanced back to Pinky. 'I'll catch up with you, okay?'

Pinky nodded and headed into the Girl's Dorm, avoiding looking at Elliott as she passed. Elliott noticed and frowned in confusion. 'What's going on?' she asked.

Mandy turned and walked to the wooden bench that ran against the wall and sat down. Elliott hesitated before limping after her. 'I made a mistake.' Mandy admitted, sighing heavily. 'And I apologise.'

Elliott frowned. 'But, um… what?'

'I didn't want it to blow up to this point, y'know? All I wanted was to make sure you knew your place. I had no idea that you were so… y'know, _ballsy_.'

'Is this going to turn into another 'post-op' joke?'

'No.' Mandy replied. 'I heard about the guys attacking you the way they did and, well, I realised that the whole thing is just going to keep getting bigger and bigger until something really awful happens, like someone gets expelled or something happens to one of the guys. Damon could have broken his leg! If we lost him then the team would go downhill really fast.'

Elliott studied the cheerleader for a moment. 'Mandy, I didn't put those pictures up you know. I took them, yeah, but I was going to burn them…'

Mandy shook her head and stood up. 'It doesn't matter. What I'm saying is that I have a condition.'

'A condition?'

'I heard you were in the tutoring group. I need help with my history coursework and stupid metal mouth Beatrice refuses to help me, and I'm _not_ sitting with that little creep Earnest drooling all over me in the library…'

Elliott leaned back. 'Tell me about it.'

'So,' Mandy went on, resting a hand on her hip. 'For you and I to be on good terms, I want you to help me with my history.'

'Just so you won't give me horrible looks in the corridors?' Elliott laughed. 'Not likely.'

Mandy sighed impatiently. 'I'll get the guys to lay off too.' She said. 'As far as everyone's concerned, the past will be the past. We'll have a fresh start and all that crap.'

Elliott eyed her thoughtfully. 'You swear the rest of your pack will leave me alone? Me and Gary?'

Mandy frowned vaguely. 'Who the hell is… _Oh_ that little weirdo. Well yeah I suppose. I didn't think they even cared about him…'

Elliott stood up and slipped her crutch under her arm. 'Okay. Deal.'

Mandy half smiled and nodded. 'Good. Right, well I have cheerleading practice this afternoon, but I could come by tomorrow.'

'Sounds okay.' Elliott nodded.

'Great.' Mandy waved a hand and headed towards the Girl's Dorm. 'See you there then.'

Elliott watched her go, frowning thoughtfully. Well that was certainly out of the blue. Seemed like Gary getting her into the tutoring group was having more perks that she had originally thought. Okay, so she would have to sit in a room with Mandy or God knows how long, but it was better than being beat on by a bunch of overgrown apes. Smiling slightly, Elliott limped towards the Girl's Dorm.

* * *

'Elliott, I am very impressed. In just a week and a half you have managed to get young Pedro's grade up from an F to a D.'

Elliott shifted in the wooden chair and glanced away from Dr Crabblesnitch. She didn't like receiving praise as it made her uncomfortable. 'Well, he has been working pretty hard…'

'It is truly wonderful,' Crabblesnitch went on, pacing behind his desk. 'I have to say I was mistaken about you. I was beginning to think that you were nothing but a nuisance, but this… Well, you've certainly proved that you have a lot of potential to be a very great student. It's just a shame that it took a broken foot for you to unlock some of it.'

Elliott smiled awkwardly. 'Maybe I should break the other one to see if I get any better.'

He looked at her strangely. 'Um, quite.' He sat down again and intertwined his fingers. 'As you're aware there aren't many girls at this academy, but you are by far my current favourite.'

Elliott wasn't sure how to take that. 'Um… thanks. I guess.'

'I hear you've also been doing a spot of tutoring in your spare time,' Crabblesnitch went on. 'Truly impressive. I don't think I've ever seen a student take such a drastic change in their attitudes towards work. Going from persistent truanting to helping others with their classes? Truly admirable.'

'You keep saying.'

'And for that I believe you should be rewarded.'

This caught Elliott's attention. She glanced up curiously. 'Rewarded?'

'Yes. I believe you are aware of the dorm rules regarding music and the likes?'

Elliott nodded. She had brought a small portable CD player with her when she had arrived but Crabblesnitch had confiscated it. 'Yes sir.'

'Well, because of you're admirable contributions, I think you deserve to have your record player back.' He rose a finger before she had a chance to react. '_Only_ on the condition that you use headphones. I do not want Mrs Peabody coming here to tell me you've been having discos and the like in the dorms. Do you understand? One misuse of this privilege and I will take it from you. Do I make myself clear?'

Elliott was grinning. 'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'

'Good.' Crabblesnitch nodded and sat back. 'You may go. I'll have Mrs Peabody bring it to you.'

Elliott stood up and slipped the crutch under her arm. 'Thank you.' She smiled.

'How is the foot by the way?' Crabblesnitch asked, peering at her foot. 'Due to come off soon, yes?'

'Next week.' Elliott nodded. 'Nurse McRae said it shouldn't be on longer than two weeks.'

Crabblesnitch frowned vaguely. 'I thought it took longer than that. Well, young bones heal quicker. Go on then, girl. And keep up the good work.'

Elliott hopped out of the office, feeling quite happy. This was turning into a good couple of days; first Mandy had called a truce and now she could actually sit and listen to _music_. She had started to forget what music even sounded like. The other girls would probably be jealous but, well… that was their problem. Half of them had little portable radios hidden around their rooms anyway.

She moved to the top of the stairs when she caught the sight of that faded sweater vest out of the corner of her eye. She glanced up to see Gary on the other side of the top level by a row of lockers. He was standing talking to Mandy.

Intrigued, Elliott moved behind one of the wooden beams and watched them. They were too far away for her to hear what they were saying, but Mandy seemed to be in deep thought about what Gary was saying to her. Elliott watched, troubled, as Gary leaned a little closer to her to say something, to which Mandy started giggling. She was shaking her head and giving it the whole '_Oh my God_' thing, while Gary just grinned and nodded.

Elliott felt an unfamiliar pang in her stomach and for a moment just thought it was hunger. Then she realised what it really was. Jealousy.

Annoyed that she was jealous, Elliott made her way down the stairs, refusing to look up at the two on the other side. Before she went out of the doors though, she looked back. Mandy was heading away, still smiling and shaking her head. Gary was watching her go, and then he looked down at Elliott. He grinned, saluted her, and sauntered away out of sight.


	28. And The Doubts Descend

**A/N:** I've just noticed that the chapters are getting shorter... no idea what's going on there lol. Anyway, I've had a sudden surge of people favouriting this story, so thanks to everyone who's faved :D And huge thanks to my lovely reviewers too, you're all awesome :D

* * *

**Chapter XXVIII:**

**"And The Doubts Descend"**

Elliott sat on the edge of her bed, frowning deeply. What the hell had Gary been doing with Mandy? He had told her on many occasions that he hated her guts and Mandy could barely remember who he was yesterday. So why all of a sudden were they whispering together in the school? It didn't make sense. But then again Gary rarely made sense. Not for the first time since meeting him she wondered if it was really a good idea helping him out with his little 'project'. Maybe she should just tell him she wasn't interested anymore…

Who was she kidding? Of course she was going to keep helping him. Why? Because as much as she hated to admit it she was smitten. It was annoying, certainly, but she couldn't get rid of this gooey invasion on her brain that made her want to follow him around like a little puppy and do whatever he asked. Elliott had never believed in doing things for boys, she expected them to chase after her – but this time it was different. How it was different, she had no idea. She had dated guys before, most of them older and she never did anything for them. But Gary… Hell, she was spending the majority of her free time in a library full of Nerds for him and she wasn't even sure why she was doing it.

Elliott's frown deepened. Yeah, she was off doing all this while he was off doing God knows what. The least he could do was let her in on why she had to 'infiltrate' the Nerds. All he said was that they needed the Nerds on their side, but that made absolutely no sense at all to Elliott. Why did they need the Nerds on their side? Just what the hell was he planning?

A knock at the door roused her from her thoughts and she looked up as it opened. Mrs Peabody entered, looking even more irritable than usual.

'Dr Crabblesnitch told me to bring this.' She said, lifting the CD player up like it was made out of mouldy cheese. 'Why he did I do not know.'

Elliott smiled as pleasantly as she could and stood up, taking the CD player from her. 'Thanks a lot, Mrs Peabody. And don't worry, I'll make sure it stays quiet.'

Mrs Peabody scowled. 'You better. Because if I hear even the tiniest squeak coming from that awful thing then…'

She was interrupted by Mandy, who walked into the room with a textbook and a pile of notes in her arms. Elliott had to stop herself from scowling at the cheerleader, and managed a smile.

'Do you want me to come back?' Mandy asked, glancing warily at Mrs Peabody. She looked to Elliott, and then saw the CD player. 'Oh _cool_!'

'Like I said,' Mrs Peabody growled, now at the both of them. 'I do not want to hear a _peep_.' She glared at the two of them to emphasise her point and then left, closing the door behind her.

Elliott hopped to her desk and set the CD player down, squatting to plug it into the wall. 'I didn't think she would bring it.' She told Mandy. 'I expected to look out of the window and see her burning it in the yard.'

Mandy crossed the room and put her books on the desk, looking at the CD player like it was the Holy Grail. 'How did you get that? Crabblesnitch takes anything that makes a noise in this place. We're lucky we even have a TV downstairs.'

Elliott pulled open her drawer and began to rake through the CDs. 'Apparently I've made the most drastic turnaround out of every student here because I'm doing these stupid tutor class things. So as a reward he said I could have my CD player back. I don't know how long for, I'm sure Mrs Peabody will find an excuse to take it back sooner or later…'

'Wow. I don't think I've ever heard of Crabblesnitch doing something like that.' Mandy sat on the chair by the desk. 'I brought all my notes and stuff but I have no idea what any of them mean…'

Elliott limped off and returned with a chair from one of the other desks. She sat down and picked up the textbook. 'It's probably just timelines and stuff and…' She trailed off when she looked at Mandy's messy notes. 'Um… what is it you're doing, exactly?'

'I don't even know.' Mandy replied unhelpfully, pushing the textbook towards her. 'I don't even see why we have to do it. It's not like I want to be a frigging librarian or whatever they're called.'

'Historian.' Elliott corrected, opening the book.

'What?'

'Not librarian. People who do History are called Historians.'

Mandy frowned vaguely. 'Oh right. So… can you do History?'

Elliott glanced at her briefly. There was something weird about tutoring other kids that she hadn't been able to pinpoint until now; it was that the kid being tutored suddenly looked towards you like you were the authority. Maybe they even had a little respect for you.

'Yeah. Sure.' Elliott replied. 'I guess you're on the Civil War by now…'

Mandy had already lost interest and was looking through the CDs that Elliott had produced. 'I don't think I've heard of a single one of these.' She said, her nose wrinkled. 'And who are Rem?'

'It's REM, not Rem.' Elliott told her, taking the CD. 'And I don't think you'd like them. We'll just leave it off while we do this and then-'

'How's your foot?' Mandy interrupted, leaning on her elbow.

Elliott paused. Okay, so Mandy had the attention span of a brick. 'Okay. The cast comes off next week.'

'It hasn't been on very long.'

'Apparently it wasn't very broken.'

Mandy half nodded. 'Damon's leg's better now. He should be able to play again soon.'

_Like I give a damn_. 'Great. Now, it says that your report has to be three pages…'

'Nurse McRae said he should be totally better by the time the big game comes along.' Mandy continued, leaning back in her chair and examining her fingernails. 'We've been doing nothing but practising for the past month. If we lose that game then we'll be a complete laughing stock. It'll be awesome though. The girls and I have come up with a killer opening routine.'

'Sounds great. Now, about the report-'

'Are you coming?' Mandy asked. 'To the big game. It's still a while away but everyone's going to be there. The guys won't mind. I talked to them today and they said they're cool with you now. Ted is still a bit funny about the whole thing, but knowing him he'll have forgotten by then. He does that.' She cocked her head patronisingly. 'He's not that bright, really.'

Elliott gave up and sat back, putting the book down. 'I guess I'll come and see what's happening.' She shrugged. 'Although I've never been much of a sports person.'

'I noticed in Gym,' Mandy replied. 'But still it's fun to watch, y'know? And we've got to make sure the other team get slaughtered.' She paused and eyed her. 'You know, Elliott, you're totally weird.'

Elliott blinked at the sudden comment. 'Uh…'

'Not in a freaky way.' Mandy told her. 'Not like, _Algie_ weird. I mean… you seem pretty cool to talk to and, I dunno if things had been different you probably would have been hanging out with me and Pinky and Christy but… then you do all this weird stuff like skipping class all the time and doing big revenge attacks. And hanging out with weirdoes like Beatrice and then that slut Lola. Then all of a sudden you're doing these tutor groups…'

Elliott shrugged. 'What can I say? I'm complicated.'

Mandy nodded. 'Too right. And your choice in guys is just _uber_ weird.'

'My choice in guys?'

'Trent's been going around telling everyone you made out-' Mandy started.

'That little shit!' Elliott cried. 'He practically assaulted me!'

'Don't worry, no one believes him.' Mandy shook her head. 'He told everyone that I made out with him behind the library. I mean, behind the _library_? Of all the places.' She shook her head again. 'And there's that weird kid who likes to torture people…'

'Gary doesn't like to torture people.' She replied. 'That's just what Pinky was telling everyone.'

'Well, he still freaks me out a bit.' Mandy frowned. 'Although he told me something today that nearly made me pee laughing.'

Elliott felt her ears prick up. 'Oh yeah? What was that?'

'You know that kid Jimmy? Well apparently he was kicked out of his old school because they found him in the kitchen with a roast chicken and, get this, he was _butt naked_.'

Elliott grimaced. 'Ew.'

'I know!' Mandy giggled. 'So gross. I knew there was something weird about that kid. I thought maybe Gary was just making it up but then I thought, why _would_ he make it up? I mean, that would just be stupid. And it would probably explain why Jimmy is sexually confused.'

Elliott frowned thoughtfully. 'Yeah, it would be stupid.'

Mandy sighed and looked down at the notes. 'Well, I guess we better get started, yeah?'

Elliott glanced to the books. 'Yeah, I guess.'

Mandy grabbed the textbook and scanned through the page. 'This totally _blows_. I bet all the head cheerleaders at the other schools don't have to do frigging history reports.'

Elliott only nodded in response. Now it was her who was going to find it difficult to concentrate. She couldn't help but wonder if Jimmy really deserved all the crap he was getting.


	29. When Urges Turn Into Actions

**A/N:** I think some people have been waiting 28 chapters for this one xD

* * *

**Chapter XXIX:**

**"When Urges Turn Into Actions"**

Without Gary around the last two weeks had been uneventful and, if Elliott was honest, quite peaceful. Having the threat of the Jocks sorted out was a massive weight off her shoulders, and she had managed to get Earnest to take over tutoring Pedro for her. Earnest had practically been dribbling on her shoes ever since she had bent over to pull a piece of gum from the bottom of her shoe a few days ago. So things were going well and, to top it all off, the cast came off today. However Elliott knew that good things didn't last long at Bullworth, and she was cautiously watching for something to ruin everything.

'Looks like it's healed up well.' Nurse McRae said as she tossed the cast into the bin. Elliott's foot was pale and soft looking. It felt wonderful to have fresh air getting at it.

'It doesn't hurt anymore.' Elliott replied. 'Actually, it hasn't hurt since last week.'

Nurse McRae shrugged. 'It probably wasn't even broken. I just put the cast on as a precaution.'

Elliott stared at her. 'Um… what?'

'But it's better now anyway,' the nurse went on, ignoring her. 'You might want to go wash that foot because, well, it stinks. I think it might have been a bit tight too, but you can't expect much from me. I'm only trained to give out shots after all.'

Elliott stared at her for a long time. 'You mean… I didn't even need the cast?'

Nurse McRae washed her hands in the sink. 'Probably not.' She shot her a wicked look. 'But I bet it taught you not to be so reckless, girl.'

Elliott decided that Nurse McRae had just made the top of her hit list. Still glaring at the nurse, she pulled on her shoe. It felt weird on her newly liberated foot. 'So can I go now?'

'Yes. And try not to do anything to bring you back anytime soon. I have enough on my plate with black eyes and nosebleeds as it is.'

Elliott left the infirmary with a frown on her face. Next time she injured herself she would rather go and see Edna than that bitch of a nurse. Edna would probably know more about what she was doing for one thing. She walked a little lopsidedly, finding it difficult to get used to walking normally again. Well, at least now she could go into town without having to take the bus.

She decided to celebrate her cast coming off by having a trip into town. She had no idea what she was going to do in the town; she was still penniless. She figured she could do with the exercise. But, as usual, she had barely taken three steps before she heard her name.

'Ah, you got your foot back.' Gary grinned, leaning against the soda machine with his arms folded. She had no idea how she hadn't noticed him. The guy seemed to materialise out of nothingness.

'Yeah,' Elliott nodded, lifting her foot to wiggle it. 'And I also found out that the nurse has just been screwing with my mind.' She crossed her arms, mirroring his pose. 'So you're showing your face again, huh? I thought you had died or something.'

'Oh no, I've been working.'

'Working.'

'Yeah.' He grinned. 'Haven't you?'

Elliott moved towards him. 'Actually, I want to know what's going on. Because, well, I don't want to be a nag, but I've been flying blind here. I'm doing all this stuff with no idea to why I'm doing it and…'

'I've been waiting for you to get the cast off,' Gary said, interrupting her. 'You wouldn't have been able to handle the stairs.' He jerked his head towards the school building and headed towards it. 'Come on.'

Elliott frowned. 'Hey, I was talking-'

'Oh come _on_,' he turned and walked backwards, hanging his arms in exasperation. 'It's been two weeks. Don't nag at me straight away, okay?'

Elliott frowned. 'Well I hope you're not just avoiding the subject.'

He chuckled and headed inside. Elliott glanced around to see if anyone was watching, which they weren't, and followed him.

* * *

'My _God. _You're staying here?' Elliott asked, grimacing at the dark, dusty room. 'Seriously?'

Gary flopped down on the bed and put his hands behind his head. 'Don't you like it?'

Elliott frowned, trying to think of an inoffensive response but was unable to come up with one. 'It's a dump.'

'Hey, at least it isn't rampant with rats like the Boy's Dorm.'

'That's because even the rats think it's a dump.'

They had snuck past two Prefects to get onto the staircase that led up to the Bell tower at the top of the school. The room was halfway up the tower and had probably once been used by a janitor or whoever was in charge of the bells. It had been empty for a long time – the cobwebs and dust proved that – but Gary had left his mark on it. There was a desk underneath the narrow, grimy window that looked out onto the campus, which was piled high with various books and papers. The bed seemed clean enough (well, as clean as could be expected from a teenage boy) and on the nightstand there were two fat, half melted candles, which meant no electricity.

'It's perfect,' Gary replied. 'I'm still on school grounds so I don't have to travel far. I hear all the announcements. And the best part is that I don't have to share a building with a bunch of sexually deprived psychopaths. Seriously, I woke up in the middle of the night once and one of those Greaser kids was trying to get into bed with me. He said it was because he was wasted and got the wrong room, but I knew. He couldn't resist my potent manliness.'

Elliott laughed. 'Of course not. Who could?' She moved to the window, peering out onto the campus. 'It just seems like a lot of trouble to go to, y'know? I mean, relocating to the Bell tower?'

The bedsprings creaked as Gary sat up. 'How would I be able to think in peace with that little bastard storming in every five minutes? And anyway, I prefer it up here. All geniuses need solitude.'

'You mean Jimmy?' Elliott asked, glancing back to him. 'Man, some people might think you're obsessed with the guy.' She turned around and leaned against the desk, folding her arms. 'So no one knows you're up here?'

'Nope.' He grinned at her. 'Except you.'

'Don't they see you coming in and out?'

'Evidently not.' He moved up the bed so he was leaning against the headboard. 'Come and sit.' He told her, patting the bed beside him.

She half laughed. 'I'm okay here.'

Gary smirked and folded his hands in his lap. 'So… how's the Nerd infiltration going?'

Elliott glanced back to the window in slight annoyance. She didn't want to talk about the stupid Nerds. She had had enough of them for one lifetime. She hadn't seen Gary for nearly a full two weeks. She had hoped he had wanted to talk about something else. 'Okay, I guess.' She replied. 'Earnest is practically obsessed with me. I found a rose in my locker yesterday with a frigging poem attached to it, signed _E_. And he took over all the kids I'm supposed to be tutoring. _And_ he did all of my biology homework.'

Gary chuckled. 'I told you to drop your pencil in front of him, not turn him into some love slave.'

'I didn't even do anything,' Elliott shrugged. 'I guess he just couldn't resist my womanly wiles.'

Gary chuckled again gleefully. 'What about Beatrice?'

'She's basically taken me under her wing in this new world of pocket protectors and jam jar glasses. She tried to get me in an astronomy club vest yesterday.'

'You would look good.'

Elliott turned around to look out of the window again, bending to rest her elbows on the surface of the desk. 'Yeah well, I draw the line at becoming a fully-fledged Nerd. And anyway, if I turn up in one of those gross green sweaters then Earnest might try and make me his queen or something.' She watched a group of bullies pestering little Pedro and sighed glumly. 'I hope something good comes out of all of this, because I'm starting to smell Algie everywhere I go. What the hell is it that I'm supposed to be doing anyway? I've spent two whole weeks on the Nerd Squad not even knowing why.'

Gary said nothing, which roused her curiosity. She glanced over her shoulder at him to see that he was watching her intensely. Or rather, he was watching a different part of her. She straightened up and whirled around.

'You little perv!' she laughed.

He blinked. 'What?'

'You need to wash your eyes out, buddy. I catch you staring at my ass like that again and I'll make sure you don't look at anything.' She shook her head and laughed quietly. 'Man, you've got no subtly.'

Gary just shrugged, not at all embarrassed from being caught. 'Well if you bend over like that what do you expect? I am just another hormone driven male adolescent after all.'

Elliott pushed some of the books aside and sat on the desk, crossing her legs and leaning on her arms. 'Enough about my little undercover op. Are you ready to tell me what you've been getting up to?'

Gary swung his legs off the bed and leaned his elbows on his knees. 'Oh, nothing special. The odd elaborate lie here, the odd reputation destroying rumour there.'

She chuckled. 'You little gossip queen.'

'It's called building up an attack,' he replied. 'You'll see. You start the rumour mill going and it'll take an atom bomb to shut it down.'

Elliott's smile dropped a little. 'What if Jimmy goes atomic?'

Gary looked up sharply, eyebrows knitted together. Then he relaxed and smiled lazily. 'Then we'll make sure we're out of the blast radius.'

Elliott winced a little. 'You know, Gary, I was thinking… I mean, Jimmy isn't that bad is he? I mean yeah he's a bit of a psycho, but I don't think he's ever _maliciously_ done anything to hurt anyone…'

She stopped as Gary stood up, frowning slightly at her. He slowly wandered towards her, walking in a lazy zigzag and swinging his arms. 'Jimmy is a brainless meat bag. He just wants everyone beat down and in their place. Trust me, I was there when he did it to Russell. He blames _me _for that, but he can't even find me in a school of no more than sixty kids, for crying out loud. I was sitting in the cafeteria last week and he didn't even notice me! He's too busy chasing his sluts and mowing lawns to realise what's going on. And when he does it'll be too late anyway.' He stopped beside her and rested his hands on the desk, looking out of the window. 'Look at them all. Just a bunch of brain dead morons. They can't see what Jimmy's doing to them. Already the Bullies and the Preps have given into him, and by the sounds of it the Greasers have too.'

Elliott twisted the top half of her body and leaned on one hand to see out of the window also. 'Nerds aren't much against those three.' She commented.

'Not yet.' Gary replied, expression dark. 'It's coming together. You just can't see it. It's all going perfectly.'

Elliott looked to him. The grimy window cast shadows over his face and for a split second she wanted to get as far away from him as possible, knowing he was trouble. But then he shifted and his leg brushed hers. She felt her stomach flip and her heart fluttered a little.

_Oh for God's sake_, she thought. _Stop being so girly_.

He glanced to her, a smirk on his face like he knew exactly what she was thinking. Instead of looking away and blushing and going on to do her usual ramble about something pointless until the moment had passed, she lowered her head to him and kissed him softly on the corner of his mouth.

At first he did nothing, he just continued to look at her, corner of his mouth curled up slightly. Just as she was about to melt with embarrassment, he straightened up and moved in front of her. He moved close and brushed her hair from her face, then returned her kiss. Elliott, feeling so light headed that she thought she was going to faint, kissed him back tentatively, putting her hand on his shoulder. She slipped off the table and he hooked his arm around her waist, pressing the palm of his hand against the bottom of her back. She felt a shudder run up her spine like his touch had gave her a minor electric shock and she pressed herself against him, pressing her lips harder against his.

Gary's other hand ran up the side of her body. It lingered just beneath her underarm before journeying up her back to her neck. She felt his fingers in her hair and again shuddered involuntarily. Elliott didn't resist as she felt him moving her towards the bed, his lips still locked with hers. She felt the edge of it against the back of her knees and finally broke their kiss, a little breathless.

As she looked at him she frowned slightly. He didn't look like Gary anymore – or at least the Gary that she knew. His face was softer and his eyes had lost that malicious sharpness that they seemed to constantly harbour. She stepped back from him, keeping eye contact and holding his hand, and then sat on the edge of the bed. He sat beside her and kissed her again, putting one hand on her knee. Elliott allowed him to lay her back, resting her head on the pillow and felt half of his weight come down on her. Gary pulled his face back and looked at her with those strange, unfamiliar eyes.

Uncomfortable under his intense gaze, Elliott cast her eyes down. 'Gary…' she started.

'What is it?' he asked.

She looked at him for a moment, and then shook her head. 'Nothing.'

The corner of his mouth curled up again before he lowered his head and kissed her.


	30. How To Lose Friends And Piss People Off

**Chapter XXX:**

**"How To Lose Friends And Piss People Off"**

The sun was just beginning to set outside so the dusty room in the Bell tower was already getting dark. It was silent too, and had been for about half an hour. The only sounds were of the few students wandering around campus; the odd shrill yell here, the occasional vicious laughter there.

Elliott lay with her head on Gary's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart and watching the window as the last of the light faded. He had been gently stroking her hair for a while, but now his hand was still on her shoulder. Neither had spoken since they had done – not because it was awkward but because they were both so peaceful. Well, Elliott was anyway.

She was still trying to work out if that had just _happened_. It seemed like nothing but a kind of hazy dream now and for a while she tried to convince herself that was just what it was, but the pile of her clothes by the side of the bed said otherwise. She smiled slightly and pulled the thin sheet up to her chin. Her movement stirred Gary, setting his thumb into a gentle stroking motion on her shoulder and she figured that he must have fallen asleep. She put her hand around him and hooked one leg over his.

'What time is it?' she asked after spending ten minutes trying to think of something to break the silence.

Gary lifted his hand and glanced at his watch. 'Seven thirty.' He replied.

Elliott's eyebrows rose a little. 'Wow, I've lost an hour somewhere.'

'Time flies.' he said, removing his hand from her shoulder to stretch his arms above his head. 'Still, it's not like it's late or anything.'

Elliott cuddled into him. 'It would help if it wasn't so frigging cold up here.'

'You get used to it.'

'Yeah, well I'll never get used to it. You need a heater or something.'

'You saying you'll be coming back?'

Elliott laughed a little. 'Maybe.'

'Maybe we should avoid each other for another two weeks,' Gary suggested. 'Taking the effect separation has on you.'

Elliott sat up and pushed him. 'Oh yeah, I've been spending the last two weeks wondering how I could get you on your back. Like I had to try at all.'

Gary shrugged and smirked. 'I didn't have to try much either.'

She shot him a disapproving look and moved up the bed so she was sitting against the headboard. She had the sheet pulled over her chest and tucked under her arms. 'I hope you're not implying that I'm easy.' She glanced down at him. He had one hand behind his head and was grinning up at her. She couldn't help but laugh a little at him. 'You're such a jerk.'

'And you're so easy to wind up.' Gary chuckled. He pushed off the sheet and stood up. 'I'm going to pee.'

Elliott laughed as he groped around in the growing darkness for his trousers. 'There's a bathroom up here?'

'Sure there is. It's called a bucket.'

Oh, _Gary_, that's gross!'

'I'm kidding. There's a bathroom across the stairs.' He smirked as he headed towards the door. 'If you go in that drawer there's some matches to light the candles. Try not to burn the place down if you can help it.'

She waited until he had gone before she reached over to the bottom drawer and pulled it open. She hadn't been sure which one he had meant, but upon opening that drawer she realised she had gotten the wrong one. That, however, didn't make her shut it again. Frowning, she reached inside and pulled out one of the many small plastic orange tubs. She peered at the pills inside, and then looked at the label. It was dated a month ago, but the seal hadn't even been broken. Her frown deepening, she put it back and picked out another bottle. Exactly the same, just this one was dated two months ago. There must have been a dozen untouched pill bottles in there, all a different medication. Ritalin, Focalin, amphetamines… and not a single one had been opened since the end of September last year. She remembered that he had mentioned something about having ADD when they had first met and yeah, he did seem a little fidgety and impulsive at times, but she hadn't actually thought he was _serious_. She had no idea that he was so heavily medicated, but it was more unsettling to discover that he hadn't actually been taking any of his medication.

She reached in the top drawer for the matches and quickly lit the two candles, glancing to the door to make sure Gary wasn't coming back. Then she went back to the bottom drawer and went through the pills again, rechecking the names with the aid of the light. He had nearly every single kind of medication available for ADD. If the cops raided this room he would probably be charged with possession of narcotics.

'What are you doing?'

Elliott glanced around to see that Gary had returned. She forgot how quietly he moved sometimes. He was frowning at her, eyes flicking between the open drawer and the bottle in her hand. She thought she would have panicked when he returned, but instead she found herself quite calm.

'What's all this?' she asked, picking another bottle out of the drawer. 'Gary… there's _hundreds_ of pills here.'

'I told you the matches were in the top drawer.' He said, his frown deepening.

Elliott shook her head and stood up, holding the bed sheet around her. 'How long have you been on these? Or _not_ on these, as the case may seem. The dates on the bottles go back to the end of September but…' She was cut off when Gary suddenly appeared in front of her and snatched the bottles out of her hands, throwing them back in the drawer.

'I said the _top drawer_.' He repeated firmly. He slammed the drawer shut and turned to her, looking furious.

Elliott blinked at him, completely taken aback by his anger. 'I didn't know which drawer you meant,' she replied, moving back a little. 'And that's not really the point, is it? You can't just stop taking pills like that Gary…'

'I don't _need_ medication,' Gary told her, pointing at his chest. 'Geniuses don't _need_ medication.' He moved away from her, rubbing the sides of his head. 'I stopped taking that stuff because it was turning me into a vegetable. I can think much clearer without it and the only way I can stop that little scumbag Jimmy is if I can think without any distractions…'

Elliott frowned warily and watched him as he began his jerky, fidgety pace backwards and forwards across the room. 'Don't you think that maybe you hate Jimmy so much because you're _not_ thinking clearly? I thought those kind of pills were supposed to _prevent_ you from getting distracted. They're like, smart pills or something.'

Gary shot her another annoyed look. 'Yeah, and I bet _you_ would know all about it. I read your permanent record. You used to sell that kind of stuff at your old school, didn't you? Right before you sold some crap to a kid who ended up in hospital. Maybe I should count up the bottles in case you took any for yourself.'

Elliott stared at him incredulously. She couldn't believe he had just said that. Yeah, she had gone through a phase a year ago when she got in with the wrong crowd but she had only actually _sold_ stuff once or twice. 'You bastard.' She managed, finally. 'You complete… I can't believe you just said that.'

He glanced at her and she thought for a moment he looked guilty, but then he looked away again frowning. 'I should have known you would have found them,' he said. 'I bet you can sniff them out.'

Elliott moved towards him and shoved him hard in his shoulder. He stumbled a little and then looked at her. Despite the fact his eyes said he was regretting every word that came out of his mouth, he laughed.

'What was that? I guess you don't have any energy left after all that exercise in the sheets.'

She shoved him again. 'You _bastard_!' she yelled. 'I should have fucking known.' She turned and gathered up her clothes from the floor and then looked back at him, trying to regain control of her wavering voice. It wasn't wavering because she was upset; it was because she was furious. 'You know, Gary, I thought you were different. I actually _liked_ you. I should have known you're just another fucking scum bag.' She headed for the door, clothes bundled in her arms and sheet still around her. 'You keep chasing around Jimmy like the loser that you are. Don't bother speaking to me again, got that?'

Gary's shoulders slumped. 'Elliott, come on…'

She turned on him angrily. 'Don't _Elliott_ me, right? You've made it perfectly clear what you think of me.'

He quickly moved to the door as she tried to leave and pushed his hand against it. 'I'm _sorry_, okay? I… I just get a little excited sometimes. I forget what I'm saying…'

Elliott kept her hand on the handle and didn't look at him. 'Get off the door, Gary.'

'You're right, I shouldn't have just stopped taking them like that, but you don't know what it's _like_ being on that crap. They rot away at you. Drive me _insane_. I'm better without them, I'm thinking clearer than I have in ages…'

'Gary, get off the door.'

'And _you_… I don't need medication when you're around. You keep me on the ball. Every time I see you I think of new things and way that we can get to the top of this dump _together_, and I don't normally even like _looking_ at other people. Elliott, I think I-'

She turned her head to him and shoved him in the chest. '_I said get off the door_!' she yelled.

He looked at her for a moment, taken aback, then he stepped back and lowered his head. Elliott hauled the door open and stormed out.

'I'm _sorry_.' He called after her, but she had already gone into the bathroom and closed the door to change.


	31. Everyone Needs A Good Girl

**Chapter XXXI:**

**"Everyone Needs A Good Girl"**

_Well_, Elliott thought as she back of her hand across her wet eyes. _At least I managed to get to my dorm before I broke down_.

She had practically run from the school building to the Girl's Dorm, shirt buttoned oddly and sweater balled up under one arm. Gary had again tried to apologise after she emerged from the bathroom, but she just stuffed the bed sheet in his arms and hurried down the stairs. He hadn't bothered following her. Outside Algie had tried to speak to her but she thought she might have told him to fuck off, she couldn't really remember. Once in her room she had immediately dived under her bedcovers and proceeded to sob pathetically.

She felt like a fool. _Everyone_ had told her what he was like but she insisted on thinking that they had no idea what they were talking about. As if she, a brand new student, knew more about Gary Smith than everyone who had spent their entire school lives with him. Like he had said himself, he _was _just another hormone driven adolescent. And he hadn't had to try hard at all to get her into bed with him.

She cringed into her pillow. Christ, she was even giving Lola a run for her money here. When this came out it was going to be awful. And she thought the way Trent was around her was bad – when Gary got around to telling everyone in the school _all_ the guys would probably be like that with her. Slutty Elliott Nixon. She had been right, things didn't stay good for long at Bullworth.

Elliott heard a knock at her door before it creaked open. She wiped her nose and became still, hoping that the person wouldn't notice her under the blanket.

'Elliott?' Beatrice's tentative voice enquired. 'Are you okay?'

She sniffed and wiped her eyes again. 'I'm not here.' She replied, voice muffled under the blanket.

She heard Beatrice shut the door and moved towards the bed. 'I um… I thought I heard you crying.'

Elliott was silent for a moment, trying to hold back the lump in her throat, but it just seemed to get bigger. A sob burst out of her and she pulled the duvet tighter over her head. 'I'm such an _idiot_.' She sniffed, pressing the blanket against her face. 'Why didn't I see that coming? You told me what he was like and so did Jimmy and about eighty percent of the school but I ignored everyone and now I'm nothing but a nasty tramp and now everyone is going to know and I'm going to look like even _more_ of an idiot and I'm _never_ going to live it down and I'll probably have to start dating people like Trent and Wade Martin because that's what will be expected from me and I'll be like the new Lola Lombardi and… and…'

'Elliott, slow down.' Beatrice sat on the edge of the bed. 'Come out of there and tell me what happened.'

'I don't want to come out.' Elliott sniffed. 'I want to stay under here until I suffocate or everyone forgets I ever existed.'

'Come on, it can't be that bad.'

'It _is_ that bad.'

'Well you'll feel better for telling me.'

Elliott sighed heavily and wiped at her face, before slowly emerging from underneath the blanket. Her blonde hair was sticking up all over the place and her eyes were red and puffy. She wiped her nose on the back of her hand. 'I wasn't crying.' She lied.

Beatrice looked at her sympathetically. 'Oh, Elliott. What happened? You look so upset.'

Elliott pulled her knees up to her chest. 'I don't want to talk about it.' She replied in a husky voice. 'Let's just say I'm not going to be speaking to Gary Smith ever again. Never ever.'

Beatrice tilted her head curiously. 'What did he do?'

'He's a bastard.' Elliott said viciously. 'He's just another… _boy_. Another stupid boy who was only after one thing and _I_ gave it to him because I thought that he was actually different. Which he was, in a kind of weird, crazy way… but beneath all the schemes and his weird flirting techniques that made me wonder if he was even flirting at all he was just the same as the rest of them. He was just sneakier.'

Beatrice frowned thoughtfully. 'What do you mean you gave him…' She stopped and then her eyes widened. 'Oh. _Oh_… You mean you gave him your, y'know…' She pitched her voice to a whisper. 'Your _flower_.'

Elliott frowned slightly at her. 'My flow… Oh for God's sake.' She hung her head in her hands. 'I feel like such a tramp.'

Beatrice shifted uncomfortably. 'Don't beat yourself up about it,' she said. 'I'm sure it's happened to _loads_ of girls. I mean, hardly anyone at Bullworth is a, y'know, _virgin_ anymore…'

Elliott shook her head. 'That's not the point. I wasn't a virgin before Gary.'

Beatrice blinked. 'Oh. Right.'

'The point is that I allowed him to manipulate me like that. I mean…' She sighed and looked glumly at Beatrice. 'I really thought he cared about me, y'know?' She shook her head and sighed again. 'I feel like such a moron. _This_ is why I don't bother with guys, Beatrice. I wish I was more like you, you never have this problem with boys.'

Beatrice frowned vaguely, trying to decide whether she should be offended or not. 'What happened, exactly? I mean, for you to get upset. I don't want any gory details or anything like that…'

'He just… blew up at me. Said some pretty harsh things.' Elliott shrugged. 'I don't know, I might just be over reacting. Cos, y'know, he did try to apologise and stuff…'

'Well there you go! If was apologising then maybe he was just upset. Cos I read somewhere that some people do get upset after… giving people their-'

'Please don't call it _giving away your flower_.' Elliott frowned. 'It's weird.'

Beatrice shrugged. 'Well did you do something for him to blow up at you?'

'I found loads of prescription drugs that he hadn't been taking.'

Beatrice nodded knowingly. 'Ah, for his ADD.'

'You knew he had ADD?'

'Well, yeah. Why did you think he was so crazy?'

Elliott frowned. 'I just thought he was a bit weird. Anyway… I asked him why he wasn't taking them and he just threw a wobbler. He _implied_ that I might take them to use for myself. Like some skanky little junkie.' She shook her head and looked away. 'I'm just upset because I'm annoyed with myself for not seeing it coming. It's my own fault.'

Beatrice glanced away and pulled at the hem of her dress thoughtfully. 'Well… to me it sounds like he was just embarrassed.'

Elliott glanced to her. 'Embarrassed?'

'Well, yeah. I mean, you find all his pills and he's embarrassed you saw them because he obviously doesn't want you to think that he's some mental patient. So because Gary is the kind of person who can't deal with feeling inadequate or embarrassed he decided his best chance at defending himself was to attack you. You said he tried to apologise so obviously he felt bad about what he said and probably didn't even mean it. I'm sure if you just talk to him…'

Elliott crossed her arms stubbornly. 'I don't want to talk to him.' She sat brooding for a moment, frowning deeply, and then her expression relaxed. 'Do you think so?'

Beatrice nodded. 'I might not be the expert on these kinds of things, but you're better off at least trying to talk it out with him. I can tell you like him, Elliott, even if I think you're completely insane for it… but… it's stupid to fall out over one stupid little argument.'

Elliott frowned at her hands. 'I suppose…'

Beatrice eyed her for a moment. 'Did you use… y'know… _protection_?'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'Beatrice, come on.'

'I was just asking.' She paused, still watching the other girl. 'Because there's a million and one things you have to worry about if you didn't, and that's not even _counting_ pregnancy.'

Elliott spluttered. 'Way to go to make me feel better, Beatrice!'

'So you didn't?'

'Shut up!'

'It's important, Elliott.'

'I don't care! I'm not talking about this!' Elliott climbed out of the bed and moved to the window. 'Geez.'

Beatrice watched her for a moment. 'Well… it's only eight. Do you want to go into town or something? We can go to the cinema. My treat.'

Elliott stood looking out of the window, arms folded. 'I don't really feel like it, Bea.'

'Come on.' Beatrice said, rising. 'It'll get your mind of it.'

Elliott considered it for a moment and then glanced tentatively to Beatrice. Then she managed a weak smile. 'Alright then. But I have no money.'

'I said, my treat.' Beatrice smiled.

'Alright. Well… I'm just going to get changed. I look like I've just been fooling around in the bell tower.'

'Come down to my dorm when you're sorted.' Beatrice nodded.

Elliott smiled again as the other girl went to leave. 'Beatrice? Thanks.'

Beatrice shrugged. 'It's what friends are for, yes?'

'Yeah.' Elliott half laughed.

She watched as Beatrice left, closing the door behind her, and then sighed heavily before moving to the closet to get a change of clothes.


	32. Two Sides To Every Story

**Chapter XXXII:**

**"Two Sides To Every Story"**

'That film was _terrible_.' Elliott decided as they filed out of the cinema. She shovelled a handful of the remaining popcorn into her mouth and shook her head. 'I think it's probably one of the worst things I've ever seen, and believe me, I've seen some pretty dire things.'

Beatrice giggled. 'Did you see the dog humping the teddy bear when the killer janitor came in the room?'

Elliott looked at her with lowered eyebrows. 'What? When?'

Beatrice giggled again. 'When that girl was in her room reading that stupid magazine in her underwear and the janitor crept through the door. That little Chihuahua thing was humping a teddy bear just off screen.'

Elliott laughed, covering her mouth to stop the popcorn from escaping. 'Seriously? Oh man I totally missed that! Ha, you think they would have re-shot the scene.'

'The director must have been too busy staring at that bimbo's… y'know…'

'Flower?' Elliott smirked in a bad imitation of Beatrice's voice.

Beatrice laughed unflatteringly. The way you knew when Beatrice was really laughing was when she started to bray like a donkey. 'Don't make fun of me!'

'I wasn't!' Elliott replied, mocking innocence. 'I was merely parodying you. There's a difference.'

The pair of them broke away from the other people who had also just left the dire horror movie and crossed the road to be on the side of the beach. Elliott balled the popcorn bag and tossed it in a trashcan. The movie had been on longer than they had thought, so they had about ten minutes before curfew came into effect. Neither of them felt like hurrying though.

'So do you feel a bit better?' Beatrice asked, glancing warily at her.

Elliott shrugged. 'I guess so. It helped that that guy who got beat up in the beginning of the movie looked a bit like Gary.'

'He did?' Beatrice frowned. 'I didn't see it.'

'Then maybe it was my brain going psycho.' Elliott replied, and then sighed. 'I wish there wasn't any stupid curfew. I hate having to rush around.'

Beatrice glanced at her watch. 'We still have ten minutes. We shouldn't have to rush. Although… walking a little faster than usual is probably a good idea because, well, I don't like being late.'

'I'll hurry,' Elliott half smiled. 'Just because you managed the impossible in cheering me up. A bit anyway.'

Beatrice smiled at her. 'Well I'm glad. Have you decided what you're going to do?'

'Well, when I've simmered down and stopped dreaming up various painful ways to castrate him I'm going to have a word.' Elliott shrugged. 'I think I did just overreact. But still… I had the right to be a bit annoyed, didn't I?'

'Oh certainly!' Beatrice replied. 'I would have been exactly the same in your position.'

Elliott laughed. 'We both know you wouldn't let yourself get in that position in the first place.'

Beatrice blushed a little. 'Well, I am saving myself for the right person…'

A shrill squeal of bike brakes interrupted her and they both looked around to see someone had skidded to a halt by the curb. 'Evening, ladies.' Jimmy announced.

Elliott rolled her eyes and folded her arms, looking away. Beatrice turned to him, grinning coyly. 'Hi, Jimmy.'

'Isn't this kinda late for you to be out Beatrice?' Jimmy asked. 'You're normally studying about this time.'

'Well,' Beatrice shrugged shyly. 'I thought I'd make an exception seeing as Elliott needed-'

'We've been to see that Janitor movie.' Elliott interrupted, shooting Beatrice a warning look. She didn't want Jimmy to suspect in the slightest that something was up. 'And for the record, it sucked.'

Jimmy nodded, eyeing Elliott. 'Right. Well I'll make sure I don't see it then.' He got off the bike and held it by the handlebars. 'So, would you lovely ladies like to be walked home?'

Beatrice almost melted and giggled girlishly, where Elliott just rolled her eyes again. She knew he was just doing it to humour Beatrice, but she still found it irritating.

'If you're headed that way,' Beatrice smiled. 'It would be nice.'

Jimmy nodded ahead and began to push the bike along. Beatrice quickly fell into step beside him and began to tell him about the teddy bear humping Chihuahua. Elliott frowned and waited a moment, before sighing and trudging after them, staying a few steps behind them.

* * *

They were five minutes late back to the school, and the Prefect was quick to pick them up about it, bustling Elliott and Beatrice along to their dorm. Jimmy managed to slip by unnoticed, and Elliott thought that was the last of him before she saw him waiting by the steps of the Girl's Dorm and looking quite pleased with himself.

'Jimmy, you never cease to amaze me the way you slip past those Prefects.' Beatrice said admiringly.

'It doesn't take much,' Jimmy shrugged. 'And there's always some idiot beating on a little kid to take the heat for me anyway.' He glanced back to the dorm. 'Well here we are, ladies. Safe and sound.'

'Thanks, Jimmy,' Beatrice grinned. 'Much obliged.'

'Yeah, thanks.' Elliott mumbled, arms still folded over her chest. 'Well, see ya.'

'Actually, Elliott,' Jimmy said quickly, blocking her path. 'I was wondering if I could have a word.'

She looked at him expectantly and said nothing. Beatrice watched him also.

'In private.' He said, shrugging apologetically at Beatrice.

'Oh,' Beatrice sounded a little disappointed, but she waved her hand and smiled. 'I should really go to bed anyway. I'm pretty sure we have another dissection in Biology, and I don't want to have shaky hands again in the morning.' She looked coyly at Jimmy. 'Night Jimmy.'

'Yeah, night Beatrice.' He waved back. Both he and Elliott watched as Beatrice skipped up the steps and slipped inside. He headed towards the bench and nodded for her to follow him. 'Over here.'

Elliott remained where she was stubbornly. 'I thought you said a _word_. That doesn't warrant sitting down.'

Jimmy looked at her impatiently. 'Don't start being a bitch again. If the Prefects see me hanging around the girl's dorm they'll grab me, and I can't afford to get busted again.'

Elliott rolled her eyes and glanced around, but the campus was apparently deserted apart from the faint sound of cracking eggs coming from the boy's dorm. After a moment she gave in and followed him to the bench. He sat down but she remained standing.

'Okay then,' she shrugged. 'What do you want to talk about? Let me guess. Gary.'

Jimmy shrugged and glanced past her, towards the alley behind the Girl's Dorm. 'Guess I'm pretty predictable, huh?'

She glanced over her shoulder to see what he was looking at and frowned at the sight of Christy making out with one of the white shirted bullies. She clicked her tongue and turned back to Jimmy. 'What a tramp.' She muttered.

Jimmy half smiled in amusement and leaned back. 'It's just, I've been thinking about it, and I can't understand why you're wasting your time with a freak like Gary. You must be able to see how much of a loser he is. You're not stupid.'

Elliott frowned at him. It occurred to her that the only reason she disliked Jimmy was because Gary had drummed it into her that he was some kind of crazed psychopath, but she was yet to see any evidence of it. Well, apart from the trail of unconscious kids, but that was normally because they had stupidly picked a fight with him. If she was honest, she didn't actually think there was anything wrong with him. He wasn't judging her for hanging around with Gary, he just seemed genuinely curious to why she would.

'Sometimes I think the pair of you just broke up or something.' Elliott said, looking away. 'The way you're both constantly bitching about each other.'

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. 'So he talks about me a lot, huh?'

'Well, yeah.' Elliott replied, and then chuckled. 'He hates your guts.'

Jimmy leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and frowned ahead. 'I didn't do anything to him. He's totally paranoid. The bastard set me up with Russell, and he's been running around making up all this stuff about me and telling people I've been saying stuff about their moms and farmyard animals.' He sighed and shook his head. 'I don't know what his problem is.'

Elliott regarded him thoughtfully, and then sat down. She made sure there was quite a gap between them. 'He can be pretty crazy.' She shrugged.

'_Can_ be?' Jimmy echoed in disbelief. 'He's a fully-fledged mental patient. He should be down with all the other crackpots in Happy Volts.'

'He's not that bad,' Elliott found herself saying. 'At least with me he's okay. Sometimes.' She paused, and added bitterly, 'Although he wasn't tonight.'

Jimmy glanced to her curiously. 'Oh yeah? What did he do?'

She realised what she had said and looked away. 'Nothing.'

Jimmy waited to see if she would elaborate, but she didn't. 'Well I just don't like seeing him messing with other kids. It's me he has the problem with, and I'd rather he just showed his stupid backstabbing face instead of messing around out of my reach. The guy's like a ghost. He's been going to all his classes but I never see him anywhere. All I want is a chance to beat some sense into him…'

Elliott suddenly found herself opening her mouth to tell him that Gary was living in the bell tower, but abruptly stopped herself. Instead she just shrugged and made an indifferent sound.

'He's already screwed up Johnny Vincent by telling everyone that Lola is a slut. I mean, yeah Lola _is_ a slut but… he didn't have to make it so hard for Johnny, you know? And he had the Preps turn against me, and now the Nerds are being kinda funny with me. I'm working my ass off to get people on my side while he just spreads a couple of rumours and a few empty promises and everyone's eating out of his hand! I just don't get it. And then there's _you_, hanging around with him even though you obviously know he's completely insane.' He looked to her, looking genuinely puzzled. 'Why do you do it, man? You're smarter than that.' He shook his head and frowned. 'You know, I always had respect for you after that deal with the pictures of Ted and Algie…'

Elliott winced. 'Well, that wasn't really me…'

Jimmy seemed not to hear her. 'And the way you managed to get all the Jocks off your back like that. I know from experience that it takes a lot to calm those guys down. I just…' He sighed and stood up. 'I don't get it, man. I don't even know why I'm bothering anymore. All I wanted to do was put the bullies in their place and make everyone get along without the fighting and the stupid rivalries.'

Elliott remained silent and thoughtful. After a moment, Jimmy just waved his hands as if saying goodbye to the whole mess.

'Sorry, man. I guess I just needed to get it out.'

Elliott shrugged. 'It's fine.' She told him in a small voice.

He turned to her and gestured between them. 'We're okay though, aren't we? Cos I think you're cool, Elliott. I have no problem with you. Sorry for anything I might have said that pissed you off before.'

She managed a smile and waved a hand. 'Water under the bridge, man.'

Jimmy nodded. 'Cool. Well, I better be going. No doubt I'll be running around all over for these ungrateful bastards again tomorrow.' He headed away raising a hand to her. 'It was good to sort things out with you, Elliott. Catch you later.' Elliott just watched after him, her head hurting a little.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any more complicated.


	33. Consorting With The Enemy

**Chapter XXXIII:**

**"Consorting With The Enemy"**

It took Elliott approximately twenty-four hours to calm down and stop dreaming up ways of seriously hurting Gary for what he had said to her, and along with her calming down she realised that what he had said wasn't really all that bad. Hurtful, yes, but he could have said a million and one things worse than that if he really had read her permanent record.

That still troubled her a little. She knew Gary was sneaky, but how the hell did he manage to get a hold of her permanent record?

Thinking about that too much gave her a headache, and she had had enough of headaches since talking to Jimmy last night.

Elliott decided that everything else that was going on now; Jimmy, the nerds, these stupid tutor classes – they would all have to be put on hold. She needed to talk to him. She wasn't going to let her relationship with Gary dwindle away into obscurity just because he said something he might not have meant. He might be completely crackers, but she _did_ care about him. Maybe if she could talk him into going back on his medication…

Elliott slipped past one of the burley Prefects and through the door that led up to the bell tower. It was quarter to seven; meaning that between now and ten no one would really miss her so if this confrontation turned out to be more than a few muttered apologies and a handshake she would be covered for it. Not that she was planning for it to be any longer than that.

She took the stairs two at a time, but tried to keep her footsteps quiet. That was impossible taking that the wooden stairs were creaking like they were about to disintegrate beneath her feet. She finally reached the level where Gary's room was and slowed down. She could feel the butterflies going insane in her stomach and her heart was drumming in her ears, but she put her hand on the door and pushed it open anyway.

'Gary?' she called tentatively, peering inside. 'You in here?'

She got no answer. She stepped inside and looked around, having to squint through the dimness. Everything seemed the same as it had been the last time she was here – even the bed sheet was still balled up on the desk by the window. Elliott suddenly felt downright miserable. The night up here with Gary had been amazing, and probably would have continued being amazing if she had just shut that drawer instead of sticking her nose in where it didn't belong. Beatrice was right, she had just embarrassed him and he had gone on the defensive. Perhaps it was her that owed him the apology, not the other way round.

And now Gary wasn't even here. It looked like he hadn't been here all day. Elliott stood at the door and wondered what to do. She could leave, but she knew she wouldn't be able to muster up the courage to come looking for him again, so unless he made the first move – which she knew he wouldn't – they probably wouldn't see each other for a long time.

Before she even knew she had made a decision she was heading across to the bed. She sat on the edge and looked towards the window. She could wait a little while. Maybe an hour. If he didn't come back then fair enough, but hopefully he would. He probably already knew she was here.

* * *

Looking back on it, Elliott was unsure how she had managed to fall asleep. In all honesty she couldn't even remember lying down. She could faintly recall leaning against the headboard and waiting for Gary, but without anything to keep her awake she must have just nodded off.

When she woke up again the room was pitch black, and someone was lying on the bed behind her with their arm over her waist. She jerked up, bleary eyed and a little confused. She looked over to see Gary there, head propped up on his elbow and expression solemn. Elliott sat and looked at him for a moment.

'Hi.' She said, finally.

'Hi.' He replied.

She rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. 'I didn't mean to fall asleep.' She said.

'It's okay.'

'What time is it?'

'Nearly one.'

Elliott blinked. 'One o'clock? Wow, I must have been tired.'

Gary sat up and swung his legs off the bed, so he was sitting with his back to her. She watched him anxiously, wanting him to be the first one to attempt the apology. Then of course she would tell him it was all her fault and that _she_ was sorry and then she would be able to convince him to drop all this stupid Jimmy business and they could attempt to have a halfway normal relationship. That was how she had planned it while waiting for him, anyway. Although she wasn't expecting him to say what he did.

'I saw you talking to Jimmy last night.'

It hit her like a dodge ball to the face. This wasn't looking good. 'You did?' she tested.

Gary didn't turn, he just gestured to the window with his thumb. 'If you look out there you can see pretty much everything.'

Elliott frowned slightly at the window, briefly blaming it for ruining her moment. 'Oh. Um, Beatrice and I went to the movies and he kind of appeared outside and walked us back. I didn't want him to, y'know, but Beatrice…'

'What did you talk about?'

Elliott hesitated. She could outright lie to him and say he was just being a jerk again, but if he had seen them talking then he would have seen that they had been talking quite calmly. She wasn't sure how much he could see from up here. Or, on the other hand, she could use this moment to try and talk him out of this mission to rule the school.

'He was asking me why I hang out with you.' Elliott said, just allowing the words to come out. 'I think his exact words were that he wanted to beat some sense into you.'

Gary chuckled humourlessly. 'Yeah he would like that, the little psycho.'

Elliott looked down at her hands. 'You know, Gary, I was thinking. The school seems to have calmed down a lot recently. I don't think I've seen anyone fighting for a while, y'know? And when I was talking to Jimmy he said that he just wants everyone to get along and I think he meant it. Maybe we should, y'know… just let Jimmy get on with it. And then maybe you and I could-'

Gary turned and looked at her, eyebrows drawn together. She fell silent under his gaze, and also a little nervous. 'Are you for _real_?' he frowned. 'You seriously believed him.'

Elliott glanced away. 'I just think you're both going a bit crazy about the whole thing…'

Gary rose and began to pace, chuckling that awkward way he did and shaking his head. 'You're so _gullible_, Elliott. Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to get a pity vote from you. You're a _girl_, and consequently can't be beaten to a pulp to be put into line, so all Jimmy can do is be extra nice to you and hope you see it his way. I thought you were smarter than that, Elliott.'

Elliott frowned. 'Hey, maybe you need to look at the bigger picture here-'

'I _am_ the bigger picture!' he announced, holding his arms out. He looked at her for a moment and then allowed his arms to drop by his sides again. 'Jimmy might be about as smart as road kill but he's _scheming_.' He pointed to the window and tilted his head. 'Don't you see? He's got all the girls wrapped around his finger. He turns up with flowers and all that tacky crap and they melt at his feet. They love the bad boy, and he's got the girl's on his side. That's how he works. He kicks the crap out of the guys and passes various diseases around the girls. Wait until he turns up with a bouquet of flowers that he picked from outside the girl's dorm.' He shook his head and began pacing again. 'The cheap little bastard.'

Elliott thought about it. It made sense, but then again what Jimmy had said had also made sense. She could feel another headache coming on. 'It's just… The whole thing is _stupid_. What are you going to do when you have control, huh? Like the teachers will let you do anything more than represent them in meetings or something.'

Gary chuckled. 'Oh, it's much more than that.' He stopped and eyed her for a moment. 'So what, are you on _Team Hopkins_ now?'

Elliott frowned. 'I'm not on _team_ anybody.'

Gary shrugged and wandered off to the window. 'You were waving the _Team Smith_ banner pretty high last night.' He muttered.

She stood up, feeling a rush of anger. 'I came up here to _apologise_ to you. The least you could do is not be a complete asshole for ten minutes. Do you think you could manage that? Or is it too hard for you?' She stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. 'I don't even know why I bothered. I'm out, okay? I don't want anything to do with this anymore.' She turned and headed for the door. 'I hope you and Jimmy beat the crap out of each other and leave everyone in peace.'

Gary turned his head to her. He allowed her to reach the door before saying anything. 'I need you with me on this.' He said, quietly.

She stopped and glanced back. 'You don't. I don't know why you need me around. Maybe you like having someone around to mess with their heads but you certainly don't need me to do anything.'

He turned his body and leaned against the desk. He was nothing but a shadow against the window. 'I need you on my side. You're all I've got, Elliott.'

Elliott cast her eyes down. 'It's just too much hassle. Sorry, Gary.'

'If you go then Jimmy's won,' he said quickly as she went to open the door. 'And you'll be like all the others. Just another one of Jimmy's bitches.'

'Gary, drop it, please. I just want to get my school years over and done with and then get as far away from Bullworth as physically possible. Like, I dunno, maybe Spain or something. I could sell cheap tat to tourists.'

He moved towards her. 'We can make peace for ourselves. I swear, if we do this together then you'll have everything you wanted.' He reached her and put his hands on her arms. 'Come on. I'm sorry about what I said. I just get…'

Elliott half rolled her eyes. 'Excited, I know.' She sighed heavily. 'I'm not hanging out in the library anymore.' She said after a while. 'And you've got to stop spreading those stupid rumours around.'

Gary's face almost split in half his grin was so wide. 'It's okay,' he told her. 'We don't really have to do anything more anyway. It's the big game next week, and I need to go see Crabblesnitch about something…'

Elliott frowned. 'Crabblesnitch? Why?'

'You'll see.'

She began to ask what he meant, but he silenced her by planting a kiss on her lips. This time she didn't blush though.

'It's going to be great.' He told her. 'I guarantee it.'

Elliott half smiled at him. 'I know.'


	34. Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place

**Chapter XXXIV:**

**"Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place"**

Jimmy had been right about one thing; Gary was like a ghost. For the past week Elliott had not seen hide nor hair of him around campus or in any of the towns, and taking he had passed Chemistry in the first two months of the school year she knew she wouldn't be seeing him in class. That night they had made up he had gone from muttering obsessively about Jimmy Hopkins to murmuring promises of a better life in her ear. Elliott wasn't one to be swept off her feet so easily, in fact she prided herself on having a rational mind, but Gary had some kind of hold over her. He made her act like a kid. She practically hung on his every word. So when she had left in the morning she had looked forward to going to up the bell tower again the next night, but he hadn't been there. And he hadn't come back either.

It was safe to say that she was more than a little pissed off. In the beginning anyway.

But as it turned out life at Bullworth Academy was so much simpler without worrying about his little schemes. Also now her tutoring sessions were over she didn't have to spend so much time at the library, but that hadn't deterred Earnest from leaving presents in her locker. She had made a mental note to tell Beatrice to ask him to stop. She was getting a bit freaked out. Despite having a potential stalker in Earnest, everything else was going fine. Her grades were higher than usual, Mandy was actually civil to her in _public_, and everyone else just seemed to leave her alone. It had been all she had wanted when she first joined the school. It was just a shame it had taken nearly eight months to achieve it.

However, she still missed Gary. She couldn't understand why he would just disappear like that after they had made up. After she had told him that she would stay by his side even though she still had doubt niggling away at the back of her mind. She remembered him mentioning something about having to go down to Blue Skies Industrial Park for a few things, but Elliott wasn't even sure where that was. She just hoped he was okay.

She was making her way to the cafeteria where she was meeting Beatrice for lunch when Miss Danvers stopped her. She wasn't overwhelmed with dread every time an authority figure stopped her these days because she knew she had done nothing wrong. In fact, the faculty and Prefects had been overly nice to her – in the last week especially.

'Ah, Elliott, there you are.' Miss Danvers smiled. 'Dr Crabblesnitch would like to see you in his office.'

Elliott glanced at her watch. She was already ten minutes late in meeting Beatrice. 'Um, okay.' She shrugged, and followed the older woman up the stairs. As she followed her she wondered what Crabblesnitch could want. Probably wanted her to start doing the tutoring classes again seeing as she had done such a good job with Pedro, but there was no way she was putting herself through that misery again, no matter how many brownie points she would get for it.

Miss Danvers escorted her through the reception and pulled open the door to the Principal's office. 'Here we are, Headmaster, as you requested.'

Elliott stepped inside warily.

'Ah, Miss Nixon. I'm glad Miss Danvers was able to find you without resorting to the PA system.'

Elliott's face dropped. Gary sat in one of the chairs opposite Crabblesnitch's desk, grinning at her. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his eyes were practically sparking they were so full of excitement. The first horrible thought that ran through her head was that Crabblesnitch had somehow found out about that night in the bell tower and he was going to tell the whole school, but then rationality stepped in and told her that was ridiculous. But still, her legs had gone completely stiff and she couldn't take her eyes off Gary.

'Please, Miss Nixon, sit.' Crabblesnitch told her, gesturing to the chair beside Gary.

Elliott managed to get her legs moving, but she had to work hard in not falling over. She sat down a seat away from Gary and awkwardly folded her hands in her lap. She could feel Gary's eyes boring into her but she kept her own straight ahead. Miss Danvers bowed to the Principal and closed the door.

'Oh, Miss Danvers?' Crabblesnitch called, but she didn't hear him. 'Excuse me for a moment,' he said to Gary and Elliott, and then headed out into the reception.

Elliott remained looking ahead, tensing her jaw. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gary leaning towards her.

'Hey.' He grinned.

She snapped her head around to him angrily. '_What_ are you playing at?' she hissed in a harsh whisper. 'Why am I in here? Where the hell have you been for the last month? I've been looking all over for-'

'Ah, here we all are.' Crabblesnitch announced, returning. Elliott snapped her head back around and Gary sat up again, still grinning. 'I hope you weren't in the middle of anything, Miss Nixon, but I thought it would be better if the three of us discussed this matter together.'

Elliott frowned slightly. 'What matter would that be, sir?'

'I imagine you would be happy to learn that Gary here is to be the new Head Boy. He tells me you are quite good friends. It's nice to see the good students sticking together.'

She felt a little sick. 'Yes, sir.'

'The pair of us have been discussing whether or not it's necessary to have a Head Girl, but even if the female population at Bullworth is quite low we still need someone to represent them, and Gary here seems to think that you would be the perfect candidate. I have to say that I agree with him, considering your drastic turnaround since starting here at Bullworth. You would set quite the example for your fellow students.'

Elliott brushed her hair from her face and swallowed. Her throat clicked. 'Well, um… I don't really know what to say…'

'A _yes_ would be wonderful,' Dr Crabblesnitch smiled at her. 'I think the pair of you would make quite the team. You're both responsible and courteous…'

Elliott frowned slightly. Gary? Responsible and courteous? Had Crabblesnitch been at Mr Galloway's 'tea'?

'And I believe that your relationship with the students could really make a change around here. I don't expect you to make a decision right away…'

'Actually,' Elliott said, shifting in her seat. 'I um, I don't think it's really my thing…'

'Nonsense. You would thrive in such a position.' Crabblesnitch replied. 'The younger children admire you. Pedro has come along leaps and bounds since you tutored him.'

Elliott couldn't help but glance briefly to Gary. He was still grinning. It was going exactly the way he had planned it. 'Dr Crabblesnitch,' she said, lifting her chin. 'I'm really… happy that you think I'd be good for it but I just don't think I'd _want_ to. There's loads of girls who would be better at this than me…'

'I refuse to take you answer until you have thought about it, Elliott.' The Principal replied, waving a hand. 'It would be such a shame for you to turn down such an opportunity. Imagine the changes you could make. I'm quite sure Gary will help you come to the proper decision.'

'But really,' she insisted. 'I don't think there's much more to-'

'I'll let the two of you go and discuss it.' Crabblesnitch said over her, rising from his seat. 'The History room should be free if you want to talk in private. I would be thrilled to have you on board, Elliott. Keep that in mind.'

'I will.' Elliott said, flatly.

'Wonderful. Now off you both go, I believe I have some paperwork to be getting on with. These report cards don't sign themselves you know!'

Elliott rose from her chair, her legs still feeling stiff and alien. Gary stood also and nodded to Dr Crabblesnitch. 'Thank you, sir,' he said. 'I'll see if I can change her mind.'

'Good boy.' Crabblesnitch nodded.

Elliott led the way out of the office, chewing on the inside of her mouth anxiously. Gary walked closely behind her, and she could still feel him staring at her. The corridor was practically deserted, apart from one of the Greasers being busted for spray painting on the wall. She had barely stepped out of the reception when she felt Gary grab her hand and pull her along the corridor.

'Hey!' she cried, and tried to resist him a little.

He only chuckled gleefully and pulled her to the History class. He pulled open the door with his other hand and went inside. She stumbled after him. When he closed the door she shoved him hard making him bash into it.

'Ow!' he laughed. 'Hey, now come on. There's no need for that.'

'What the hell was that?' Elliott scowled. 'Head _Girl_? I never said anything about being Head Girl! I said I'd _help_, but I didn't-'

He tilted his head and held out his hands. 'Come on, it's perfect! You and I, finally in charge of all the students. We've got the _faculty_ on our side now. With the teachers on our side, Jimmy doesn't have a chance! The Big Game is tomorrow night and he's already running around the football field in the Mascot outfit thanks to your work with the Nerds.'

Elliott frowned. 'But I didn't _do_ anything. I sat in that frigging library for two whole weeks contemplating suicide because Earnest thinks I'm his Juliet or something.'

'_Exactly_,' Gary grinned, snapping his fingers. His eyes gleamed mischievously. 'I knew Earnest would be obsessed with you. He's obsessed with any female who so much as looks at him without throwing up. All I had to say was that you would be really impressed if he got at the Jocks and I just knew he would get Jimmy to do his dirty work.' He chuckled and shook his head. 'The morons at this school are so predictable.'

Elliott was frowning at him. 'I don't get it. Gary, you're not making any sense anymore. Not that you made much to start with…'

'Jimmy's going to sabotage the Big Game!' Gary grinned. 'Don't you see? He defeats the Jocks and then he'll have everyone on his side. He'll practically rule the school!'

Elliott massaged her forehead and sat down on a nearby chair before she collapsed with exasperation. 'I thought you _didn't_ want Jimmy ruling the school.'

Gary squatted in front of her and wrapped his hands around the bottom of her leg to keep himself balanced. 'He won't rule the school. Not without the teachers on his side. What do you think the teachers are going to make of him sabotaging the game like that? And the Prefects? They'll hate him. Without the faculty, he's nothing. And _we_ have the faculty. It's going _perfectly_. I don't think it could have gone better at all! Jimmy did _everything_ I wanted him to. He fell into every single trap.'

Elliott swallowed hard. 'You're scaring me a bit.' She admitted.

'Why?' he asked, eyes sparkling. 'This is what we've been waiting for. It's what we've been _working_ for. You and me, Elliott, we're going to rule this dump. Those morons will be eating out of our hands.'

'But I thought you just wanted to stop Jimmy from taking over? You've never been completely clear with me about what it is you _want_. I thought you wanted to make the school better for everyone?'

Gary laughed, sounding manic. '_Everyone_? What's _anyone_ done for us, Elliott? No, we're making it better for _us_. You got to let the losers drown.'

Elliott stood up. 'You're completely insane.' She muttered, moving away from him.

'So?' Gary shrugged. 'It never stopped you before.'

Elliott looked at him worriedly. He confused her so much. Even an idiot could see that he was trouble but… she wanted to be with him. Hell, she thought she might even _love_ that psycho bastard. She moved towards him and took his hands. 'Let's just leave it all, huh? Just forget about all this stupid ruling the school crap. I can talk to Jimmy and I'm sure we can get him to leave us alone. Then we can just concentrate on each other, you know? It'll be good, just the two of us-'

Gary pulled away from her angrily. '_No_!' he shot at her. 'We're _not_ stopping now. Not when I'm this close! I can see it, I can _smell_ the victory. I'm not going to let that little thug beat me in this! I'm smarter than him, Elliott! I'm _smarter_!'

Elliott recoiled. 'Okay, okay! You're smarter! I know you are, but you don't have to _prove_ that!'

'Yes I _do_! If I back down now then Jimmy will destroy me. I'm not losing to that little scumbag. I'm _not_!' He stopped, eyes darkening. 'You've been on his side since he fed you all that crap outside of the Girl's Dorm last week, haven't you? I should have known when you started defending him.' He moved towards her, one finger curled out accusingly. 'You're just another one of his little _bitches_.'

Elliott shoved him back. 'You're _insane_!' she yelled. 'I am _not_ on Jimmy's side! I want to help you, Gary! I want to help you get better and forget about all this nonsense! I _care_ about you. I don't want to see you get hurt.'

He just continued to scowl and shook his head. There was no way she was going to be able to reason with him now. 'I offered you the chance to be by my side in this. We could have ruled over those morons together, but _you_ messed it up. You're just another one of _them_ now.' He stormed towards the door. 'Have fun fighting the waves.'

'Gary, don't!' she called. 'You need to calm down! You're only like this because you haven't been taking your-'

'I'll do it without you!' he told her, pulling open the door. 'I don't need you. I don't need _anyone_. You're going to wish you didn't mess it up, Elliott. You missed your chance.'

'Gary, please-'

'I'm going to run this dump, Elliott!' He shot at her, pointing at his chest. '_Me_! You lost out.'

He turned and stormed away. Elliott ran to the door. 'Gary!' she called after him, but he ignored her. '_Gary_!'

He disappeared down the stairs. Melody and Karen stopped chatting by their lockers to stare at her curiously. Elliott sighed heavily and leaned against the wall, rubbing her face with both hands.

Way to go.

* * *

**A/N:** You'd think these two could manage to stay civil with one another for more than two chapters lol. You can probably tell this is getting on the way to being wrapped up soon (about bloody time - this is the longest story I've ever wrote!!) but when this story is over it won't be the end, because I was thinking about doing two more stories centered around Elliott. That's if people would want to read them, I've just become a bit partial to her. Don't worry though, I doubt they'll be as long as this one has been :P Anywho, thanks everyone for reviewing! I'd give you some fairy cakes but Gary took them as part of one of his insane schemes :(


	35. Just A Terrible Judge Of Character

**A/N: **One more update tonight methinks. Wheesh I went a bit crazy today - what is this, three chapters? You wouldn't think I've been doing work for uni today as well lol :P

* * *

**Chapter XXXV:**

**"Just A Terrible Judge Of Character"**

The only female on campus who regularly frequented the egg splattered yard of the Boy's Dorm was Christy Martin, but that was because she was a big floozy. Elliott couldn't understand why Christy didn't have a similar reputation to Lola, but then again Christy probably only made out with guys. She didn't go the whole hog like Lola. But Elliott had no choice to go to the Boy's Dorm. Gary had done yet another vanishing act after his explosion at her in the history class. Any sane person would have totally washed their hands with him after that, left him to come crashing back down to Earth in his own way, but Elliott couldn't bring herself to do that. She knew he was only acting the way he was because he wasn't taking those stupid _pills_. If she could get him to start taking them again then he might get better. She wasn't about to give up on him.

But she needed help.

The doors of the Boy's Dorm opened and the boy who she had spent twenty minutes waiting for slipped tentatively out. Elliott stood up, anxiously clicking her fingernails together in front of her. She waited until he had gotten down the steps before she collared him.

'Petey!' she called, heading over. 'I mean uh, Peter. You got a minute?'

Petey looked at her in surprise, and then anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. 'I uh, actually I've got something I need-'

Elliott took his arm and led her towards the far side of the building. 'It'll take two minutes, I swear.'

Petey allowed himself to be pulled along. 'Oh, okay…' he mumbled.

She pulled him around the corner of the Boy's Dorm, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed them before turning to Petey. 'I know you're probably going to tell me to take a running jump, but I need your help.'

Petey shifted uncomfortably. 'Look, Elliott, I don't mean to be a jerk but… I know you're teamed up with Gary and if you think I'm going to fall for all this the same way Earnest did... I know Gary got you to work in the library so Earnest would-'

Elliott shook her head and held her hands up defensively. 'That's not it at all, Pete. Anyway, I know you're not as desperate as Earnest to fall for something that stupid. Gary's told me to sling my hook anyway because I tried to talk him into dropping all of this.'

Petey frowned in confusion. 'You did?'

She shrugged. 'Come on, I might be a bit weird in the head but I'm not as crazy as that guy. I can see that the whole thing is completely insane. But…' She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. 'You're probably just going to laugh at me but I… well, I like Gary. I want to help him.'

Petey shrugged. 'Why would I laugh? It makes sense, Gary was one of the first people who gave you the time of day at this dump of a school. But then again that was the same for Jimmy. Jimmy trusted him until he turned on him.'

Elliott shook her head and ran a hand over her face. 'They're like a pair of bulldogs.' She muttered.

Petey rubbed the back of his neck again and half smiled awkwardly. 'Yeah, tell me about it.'

'I was going to go straight to Jimmy but he would probably just try and get me to tell him where Gary was so he could beat the crap out of him. And I know you're good friends with Jimmy and I heard you used to hang around with Gary before all of this kicked off. What I'm saying is that, well… do you think you could talk to Gary? See if you can make him see sense?'

Petey shook his head and waved his hands. 'Oh no. No way. I'm not going anywhere near Gary. It was bad enough _before_ he openly hated everyone affiliated with Jimmy. If he sees me he'll rip me to shreds.'

Elliott slumped and sighed. 'He would, wouldn't he?' She leaned against the wall and rubbed her face again. 'What a stupid idea… I just don't know what to do, Petey. I don't even know why I care so much about it all. I should just sit back and wait for Gary and Jimmy to either kill each other or something and then just get on with my life.'

Petey shrugged. 'That would probably be for the best.'

'Man this sucks so _hard_.' Elliott muttered, and then glanced to Petey. 'If you think about it we're in the same boat. Both helping out crazy people.'

Petey half laughed. 'Yeah, I guess so.'

She kicked at the ground a little before pushing herself off the wall. 'Well, sorry for wasting your time Petey. I'll see you around, okay?'

Petey hesitated, and then shook his head. 'Look,' he sighed. 'As much as I find it hard to believe it looks like Gary cares about you. Maybe if you talk to him again you could calm him down and, I don't know, then maybe you could talk to Jimmy…'

Elliott frowned slightly. 'Are you trying to say I should get on Gary's good side and then help out Jimmy?'

Petey shrugged. 'No one knows what Gary's up to better than you. If you tell Jimmy where to find him he could put a stop to Gary before this gets too out of hand-'

Elliott felt a pang of anger. 'You think I'm going to stab Gary in the back like that?'

Petey frowned a little. 'Well, yeah! He's a bully and he has it coming.'

'I couldn't do that to him,' Elliott scowled. 'Sometimes I think I'm the only person in this place who gives a damn about him. He's _ill_, that's all. He needs help, not bringing down by Jimmy Hopkins. How is he going to change if every time he goes off the rails he gets this kind of reception?'

'Gary's always been the same, whether he's on his medication or not. He's not _ill_, he's _insane_. There's a difference.'

'Well not in my book.' Elliott scowled. 'God, Petey, your attitude stinks. I thought you were better than that.'

Petey just shrugged his shoulders. 'I guess you came to the wrong person for help.'

She shook her head at him in disbelief and headed away. 'Too fucking right.' She muttered. 'Later.'

She heard Petey calling for her to come back, probably so he could mutter some kind of apology. Elliott had met dozens of people like Petey; he could end an argument brilliantly and then ruin it by coming back and whimpering apologies. She ignored him though and made her way back to the Girl's Dorm, fists clenched by her sides.

This was so frustrating. She could storm around and thinking of a million and one things to say to Gary to calm him down but nothing was going to come of it if until she actually _found_ him. It was like he had fallen off the face of the Earth. Maybe she should just leave it. Or maybe she should take Petey's advice and go and talk to Jimmy…

No, that was out of the question.

As she approached the Girl's Dorm she could hear Mandy's voice. She was yelling something, and sounding pretty irate too. Great, Mandy in a bad mood. Just to make everything better.

Elliott walked through the arch in front of the Girl's Dorm with a frown on her face. Then her eyebrows lifted when she saw Mandy, Christy, Pinky and Angie all in their cheerleading uniforms and high kicking like crazy.

'Pinky, come on!' Mandy yelled. 'Do you think you're going to impress anyone with that? But your back into it!'

'But we've been high-kicking _all day_!' Pinky moaned. 'I'm going to be all blotchy and gross tomorrow because I've been moving around too much.'

'Well if you don't practice you'll totally screw the chant up for us.' Mandy shot back. 'If you're not one hundred percent devoted to the plight of our footballers, maybe you should go elsewhere.'

Pinky looked down at her pompoms sulkily. 'Sorry, Mandy.' She mumbled.

Elliott shook her head, stifling a smirk, and began to make her way to the Girl's Dorm.

'Right, come on girls!' Mandy called. 'On three, one, two- Oh, hey Elliott! Come over here a minute!'

Elliott contemplated just running for the door and pretending she didn't hear her, but Mandy was one of the students at Bullworth that could clear about a hundred yards in the second you weren't looking. She appeared by Elliott's side, the other girls taking the chance to take a break from high kicking.

'Congratulations!' Mandy beamed. 'I heard about the news.'

Elliott blinked at her. 'What news?'

'About you being the new Head Girl! Crabblesnitch wanted me to do it originally, but I told him I had too much devotion to the cheerleaders and it wouldn't be fair for me be juggling two positions that are so important. So good on _you _for doing it! I'm glad, really. You'll do a great job.'

Elliott frowned. 'But I didn't even say yes.'

'Oh, if Crabblesnitch really wants you for something, you rarely have any choice in the matter. Hell, when I started Bullworth I didn't want to be a cheerleader, but he picked me out to form the cheerleading team. And I have to say I've never looked back since.'

'Right… well, um, thanks. I suppose.' She paused and considered it. Maybe if she agreed to be Head Girl she could get a chance to talk to Gary properly. For all the good it would do. 'So, you're all practising for the big game tomorrow, huh?'

Mandy's eyes gleamed. 'Oh yeah.' She turned her head to the others and raised her voice to they could hear her. 'Although the way Pinky's been going I'd probably be better off getting Edna on the team!'

'Mandy!' Pinky cried, stamping her foot. 'You're not helping.'

Mandy smirked and turned back to Elliott. 'Are you going to be there?'

'The game? I don't know. I'm not a big sports fan…'

Mandy snorted. 'You can't _not_ turn up if you're Head Girl. You've got to attend all the big events like this, although they don't get much bigger than the big game. If you don't go no one will take you seriously.'

Elliott didn't particularly care if no one took her seriously. 'Well I guess I'll have to.' She said.

'Great.' Mandy beamed. 'I'll keep you a seat on the sidelines if you like.'

'That's okay.'

'Whatever. I'll see you later. I need to make sure these idiots can actually remember what they're meant to be doing. See you.'

Elliott didn't return the goodbye and just watched Mandy return to the others, yelling at them to get up and get to work. After a moment Elliott headed inside, shaking her head. If being Head Girl meant you had to attend the big game, Gary would most probably be there too. And Jimmy was rumoured to be sabotaging it.

She decided it would probably be in her interests to go along.


	36. Make Up And Break Down With Johnny V

**A/N: **Now this is definately my last update for the day. I need sleep now xD In this chapter I've discovered a new love for Johnny Vincent. Ah Johnny, you paranoid crazy begger.

* * *

**Chapter XXXVI:**

**"Make Up And Break Down With Johnny Vincent"**

'Right, ladies! I hope none of you thought that track would be cancelled just because the field is out of bounds today!'

Elliott couldn't look at Mr Burton without her nose wrinkling. He was an awful man. A complete pervert. Every gym class he managed to _accidentally_ wander into the girl's locker room instead of the boy's, or he accidentally threw a ball just out of reach of someone so they would have to bend down and pick it up. Elliott had heard rumours that he sent some kid into the Girls Dorm to steal panties, but she refused to believe it, even if a pair of her own had disappeared a few months ago.

Mandy was absent from today's class, along with Pinky. Christy had said that Pinky was having trouble with the routine for that night so Mandy had managed to get them both out of class so they could keep practising. And because Lola had barely stepped foot in the school since breaking up with Johnny Vincent it meant there was only Elliott, Christy, Angie and Eunice who actually turned up for gym that day. And with the field full of practising footballers, Elliott had thought the class might actually be cancelled. Apparently not.

'What I've got here,' Mr Burton announced as he lifted a small bag. 'Are pedometers. You girls know what they are, right?'

The girls just stared at him, saying nothing.

'Good,' he said automatically. 'Now what you're going to do is a cross-country run. Starting from the school gates you're going to go through Bullworth Town and through the Vale and back here. I've run it myself, so I know how many steps it takes. When you get back I'm going to check all of them, and if you're under, girls, I'll take you running myself.'

They all groaned. 'Come on, Mr Burton,' Christy moaned. 'Some of us need to keep our energy for tonight!'

'You're all young and fit,' Mr Burton replied, a gleam in his eye that made Elliott want to kick him where it hurt. 'It's good for you. It'll be like an extended warm up.' He pulled out one of the pedometers from the bad and moved to Elliott. 'These are a bit tricky, so maybe I should show you how they clip on.'

Elliott snatched it from him. 'I'm sure I can figure it out.'

He frowned and then shrugged and handed out the remaining ones. 'Right then. Well what are you standing around here for? Get moving. I want you back by the end of the hour, got that?'

The four of them wandered away from the gym teacher, Eunice dropping behind them already.

'Like hell I'm running around town.' Christy spat. 'Where people might see me?'

'We could just go to our dorms and run on the spot.' Angie suggested. 'My mom had a pedometer and all you have to do is shake them to get the number to go up.'

'Yeah, let's do that.' Christy agreed. 'Are you coming, Elliott?'

Elliott heard herself saying something she thought she would never say. 'I don't know, I think I could do with the fresh air.'

Christy and Angie stared at her. 'Seriously?' Christy frowned.

Elliott shrugged. 'I've got a lot on my mind, you know? Might help me try and work some of it out. Plus, it's not really that far is it?'

'Are you kidding?' Angie giggled. 'It's _miles_. Burton's insane, no one could run that far in an hour.'

'Then it gives me an excuse to not see him at the end of class,' Elliott replied. 'I'll see you both later, okay?'

Christy and Angie just watched her head away in bewilderment, and then headed in the direction of the girl's dorm. Dressed in one of the yellow Bullworth t-shirts and knee-length shorts, Elliott fixed the pedometer to the waistband on her shorts and headed towards the gates. Once there she hesitated, wondering if she was really serious about actually running around the town, and then found herself jogging along the path.

She had read about exercise helping people concentrate, something about the endorphins being released (although she wasn't entirely sure what endorphins were), and it seemed to be working. She felt calmer than she had done since joining Bullworth Academy, and by the time she had reached _Shiny Bikes_ in Bullworth Town, she had even convinced herself that the whole thing with Gary was so unimportant that it was actually funny, and she found herself giggling a little. Although she stopped when a couple of Preppy kids started looking at her like she was insane.

For God's sake, she was fifteen years old. Well, sixteen if you didn't care about a month or so. It was the age to do stupid things; to be worried about stuff that you had absolutely no need to worry about. So she had gotten a little too close to the wrong guy. Nearly every teenage girl makes that mistake. It was a couple of months until the end of term and by then she just _knew_ she would look back on all of this and either laugh or cringe.

Feeling quite jovial, Elliott went into Yum Yums and got herself a soda. She contemplated her route around Bullworth, preferably the quickest possible route, and stood outside the store to drink the can. She had only taken one drink when she caught sight of someone coming towards her out of the corner of her eye. She lowered the can quickly, causing some of the soda to dribble down her chin.

'Hey there, you just cool it, sweets.' Johnny Vincent told her, raising his hands. 'I'm not gonna do anything.'

Elliott scowled at him and took a step back warily. 'Well excuse me from being a little nervous. I tend to be like that around guys who drag me into back alleys.'

Johnny shrugged. 'I wasn't gonna do anything to you. I was just… a bit crazy then. You know, all that stuff with Lola…'

'Yeah, and I heard you both split up.' Elliott said, still keeping a gap between them. 'Unlucky. I'd tell you how sorry I am about it, but I would be wasting my breath. And I don't like telling porkies.'

Johnny's eyes darkened briefly. 'Hey, I came looking for you to apologise, okay? And Johnny Vincent doesn't apologise to people. You should be grateful.'

Elliott raised her eyebrows. 'You want to apologise? _You_?'

He just shrugged. 'Well, yeah. I don't want you or anyone else thinking I'm some lady beater. I would have said sorry earlier but… I've been having a bit of trouble getting over Lola, y'know. I'm still kinda cut up about it all…'

'Shame,' Elliott nodded, wanting him to stop before he started sobbing on her shoulder or something. 'Well thanks, I guess. Apology accepted. I'd love to stand here and chat but I'm going to have to go. I'm actually in gym right now…'

Johnny looked relieved. 'Cool. Hey, I just saw your boy down in New Coventry. Is he doin' okay? He didn't look too good.'

Elliott cocked her head. 'Gary?'

'Yeah,' Johnny nodded. 'I wanted to ask him about somethin' Jimmy said but, man, he's quick. I lost him around by the bike park.'

'What did Jimmy say?'

'He said somethin' about Gary being the one spreading all that stuff about Lola. But, y'know, Lola _did_ get off with Gord. I got pictures. But still, if that little twerp Gary is sticking his nose where it doesn't belong then I want to know about it.'

Elliott winced. Apparently Johnny had forgotten that it was her who told him about Lola and Gord. 'So he's in New Coventry?'

'Yeah.' Johnny replied. 'Hey, if you're looking for him I could help you find him. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kick his ass or anything. Unless I have to, of course.'

Elliott nodded. 'Of course.' She repeated distractedly. Gary wouldn't want to talk to her, she knew that, and there was no way she could try and talk sense into him while Johnny Vincent was hanging around. But she would like to know just what it was he was doing in New Coventry. 'Alright.' She shrugged. 'If you're not doing anything else.'

Johnny shrugged. 'I've got to be back at school by one. I've got Home Ec.'

Elliott smirked at him as they began to head towards the underpass. 'You take home economics?'

He shot her an annoyed glare. 'You got a problem with that?' he demanded.

She quickly raised her hands in defence. 'No way. Not at all. I think a guy who can sew is endearing.'

Johnny just frowned. 'En-what? Are you calling me gay?'

Elliott shook her head. 'It means attractive. Calm down, I didn't call you gay.'

Johnny nodded, but he was still frowning. 'Good. Because I'm not.'

'Not what?'

'Gay.'

'Right. Um… good?'

He muttered something irritably and Elliott thought it best to drop the subject. Before Johnny went off on another tangent defending his gender preference, she asked him what kind of bike he had. That kept him talking the whole way into New Coventry.

* * *

'This was where I saw him.' Johnny announced, stopping by a busted payphone. 'Although it was about half an hour ago. He's probably gone off somewhere else by now.'

Elliott looked at him strangely. 'Yeah, well I doubt he hung around waiting for us to show up.'

'What's the deal with you two anyway?' Johnny asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box of cigarettes. 'Cos you're like… pretty okay to look at, y'know? And Gary is like… a complete twerp.'

Elliott half smiled. 'I guess that's a compliment.'

Johnny smiled lopsidedly and tapped one of the cigarettes out of the box. 'I'm not hitting on you,' he told her. 'I still just got eyes for Lola, even if she is a whoring tramp. I guess I'm just curious.'

'Yeah, well so are a lot of people apparently.' Elliott replied, glancing around to see if she could see Gary lurking in any of the alleys. When she looked back to Johnny he was offering her a cigarette. 'I don't smoke.' She told him with a hint of distaste in her voice.

'You should hook up with Ricky,' Johnny told her. 'He's a good guy. Never has any luck with the ladies though. I have no idea why. He's kind, always treats his woman like a princess…'

Elliott was looking at him strangely for the second time. He noticed and abruptly stopped talking and lit his cigarette.

'And, y'know, he has needs.' Johnny shrugged.

Elliott looked away. 'I guess Gary cleared off.' She said. 'It's pointless hanging around here. I guess I'll just head back to…'

'Well, well, well look what we have here,' an unfamiliar voice interrupted. 'Has the Greaser King got himself another slut queen already?'

Elliott looked around, eyebrows raised, to see a group of three kids stepping up beside them. They looked about Johnny's age, but they weren't students from Bullworth. Elliott hadn't seen any of them before. The one in front was a dark haired, tanned guy with an orange shirt over a t-shirt and an evil glint in his eyes. The other two had shaved heads and were grinning like loons. They made the bullies look like kinder gardeners.

'Hey, get lost you stinking drop outs,' Johnny snarled, stepping forward. 'I thought your scum knew better than to walk on my turf.'

The dark haired guy grinned and stepped forward. 'What you gonna do about it, Greaseball? Looks like your boyfriends aren't around to fight for you. You gonna throw a tantrum? Whine like a little baby? Hey, then maybe your slut there can cheer you up by taking you round the back of the trains.' He grinned evilly at Elliott. 'Or if you're too busy thinking about your boys I could take her off your hands.'

Johnny shoved him back. 'You leave her alone, Edgar. Grab your junkie groupies and go back to your trailers. You better get yourselves tooled up, because I'm gonna get the guys and come round your place to give you a few new air holes, not that you'll be needing them.' He flicked his cigarette at the dark haired guy, making him hop back.

'Oh-ho,' the dark haired guy, who Johnny had called Edgar, laughed. 'Hell hath no fury like a fairy-boy scorned. You're all bent out of shape about your girl, yeah? Finally realised that she's nothing but a big slut, huh? Well we all got a good few rides out of her before you clicked on, hot shot.'

Johnny looked furious. 'You're a liar.' He seethed.

'Oh yeah?' Edgar chuckled. 'Let me see… I think it was just after the first snowfall… Yeah, that was it. Lola came past in those hot leather pants she always wears. She said she was supposed to be meeting you, but you were too busy working on your bike to pay her any real attention. She also said that she saw you looking at that big dumb guy… what's his name… Peanut? Yeah, that was it. She said you had more time for him than you did for her-'

Elliott couldn't hold back a cry of alarm as Johnny threw a fist in Edgar's face, knocking him down on the ground with one blow. He immediately grabbed another one of the dropouts, pulling him into a headlock.

'_You want some of me_?' he yelled at the bewildered dropout. '_You want some of Johnny Vincent_!'

Elliott watched as the third dropout picked up a brick from the ground and moved quickly towards Johnny. Before she could even process one thought that ran through her head, she launched herself on the third townie, wrapping her arms around his neck and jumping on his back. He dropped the brick and grabbed for her, trying to pull her off. He spun around, but she clung on, getting dizzy.

Johnny now had hold of the dropout and was smashing his face off the phone box. Edgar had picked himself up off the floor and was limping away, wiping the blood away from his face. Johnny finally allowed the dropout to fall to the ground and he lay there, writhing and groaning in pain.

'Hey, you stinking coward!' Johnny yelled after Edgar. 'Where the hell do you think you're going? You started something you couldn't finish, huh?'

Elliott let out a cry as her dropout finally managed to shove her off his back. She landed hard on her backside. Instead of getting her back for the attack, he only grinned and chased after his leader.

'You stupid rich Bullworth kids are gonna pay!' Edgar yelled as he ran off. 'You'll see! When me and Gary own your asses, you'll _all_ see!'

Elliott tilted her head. 'Gary?' She turned to Johnny. 'Did he say _Gary_?'

Johnny was storming back and forth like a bull, breathing heavily through his nostrils. His knuckles were bleeding, but he didn't seem to notice. 'That _slut_!' he cried. 'That _whore_! I _knew_ it! She said she had to go to the store but I just _knew_ it! And with those scumbags…' He kicked the semi-conscious dropout in the gut. 'With _you scumbags_!'

Elliott got to her feet and brushed herself down. 'Chill out, Johnny,' she told him. 'They were only saying it to wind you up.'

He shook his head. His eyes were manic. 'This is war.' He told her. 'I swear. This is…' He shook his head again and began to storm away. 'This is _war_!'

Elliott watched after him, eyebrows drawn together. She glanced over to the dropout, but he was pretty much unconscious. She moved over to him and nudged him gently with her foot. He groaned and cowered away from her. She guessed he would be okay. Although it looked like he was going to need a new change of pants.

She left him by the phone box and headed back to school. Like hell she was going to run around Bullworth after that. And anyway, she needed to figure out how that scumbag Edgar knew who Gary was.


	37. Putting An Abrupt End To Reconciliation

**Chapter XXXVII:**

**"Putting An Abrupt End To Reconciliation"**

Christy grimaced at the sound of someone vomiting in the toilet cubicle nearest the mirror. She stopped in the middle of applying her lip-gloss and turned her head.

'Mandy, that's so gross,' she said with a wrinkled nose. 'Why do you even bother eating if you're just going to go ahead and do that?'

An indecipherable groan responded from the cubicle, followed by the sound of dry heaving. Christy stuck out her tongue in disgust.

'Your breath is going to _stink_. You better brush your teeth. I don't know how Ted can even stand next to you after you've been doing stuff like that…'

The toilet flushed and the cubicle door thudded open. Christy looked around, ready to tell Mandy once again how gross she was, but was surprised to see Elliott emerging instead of the head cheerleader.

'Oh, I didn't realise it was you,' Christy said, half turning. 'Wow, I didn't know you did stuff like that too.'

Elliott moved to the sink and washed her hands, looking at her pale reflection. 'I don't,' she replied, voice slightly husky. 'I guess I just must have ate something weird yesterday.' She cupped her hands and caught some of the water, using it to rinse her mouth out. 'I was fine earlier. It just kind of came on. I guess I shouldn't have touched that apple crumble from the cafeteria yesterday.'

'There wasn't any apple crumble yesterday.' Christy frowned.

Elliott shrugged. 'Well that just says everything. God knows what the hell I was eating then.' She rested on the rim of the sink and sighed heavily. 'Man, I don't think I'm going to be able to make the game. I feel terrible.'

'Oh you can't _not_ go!' Christy cried. 'It's the big game. The biggest event of the school year! If you don't go that'll be like… Even the _Nerds_ go to the big game.'

Elliott splashed water on her face. 'I don't know. I doubt anyone will even notice.'

Christy put her hand on her hip. 'You're coming, even if I have to drag you. Bring a paper bag or something if you need to puke again. Although it sounds like you puked up everything in there.'

Elliott half nodded. She needed to go to the game really if she wanted to catch Gary, but she just felt truly _awful_. She had no idea where it had come from though. Only a couple of hours ago she was with Johnny Vincent brawling with Townies in New Coventry. Now her stomach was turning at the sight of water.

'I guess I could do that.' Elliott said. 'I just don't want to end up throwing up on someone in the stands.'

'Sit on the stairs.' Christy shrugged. 'No one will notice you there, and if you need to, y'know… you just need to go up the stairs a bit. Puke in the trashcan. Plenty of other people do it.'

Elliott grimaced. 'Ew.'

Christy popped the lid back on her lip-gloss. 'How do I look?'

'Great.' Elliott told her without much feeling.

'Awesome.' Christy beamed. 'I'll look out for you. Feel better, okay? Wish me luck!'

Elliott half nodded and grumbled in response. Christy pranced out of the bathroom, leaving her on her own. She couldn't understand where this sudden illness had come from, it was just so sudden. And Elliott was rarely ill anyway. Her mother used to tell her she had the stomach of a bison, meaning she could probably sit and eat raw rancid meat and not feel any worse for it. Edna must be the food-poisoning master.

Although it could always be something else. There was a little voice in the far corner of her mind, reminding her that it had been a few weeks since that night with Gary…

_Bullshit_, she told the little voice. _Stop thinking of the worst-case scenarios all the time. It was just that crazy cook's awful cooking. That's all_._ And plus, didn't they call it morning sickness because you got it in the _morning_?_

The little voice started to tell her that she knew better than that, but she swiftly silenced it and turned away from the mirror. She felt a little better now actually; the nauseous back flips her stomach had been doing were stopping. She glanced at her watch. The big game was in an hour.

Forget being sick, she was still troubled about that Townie Edgar. Gary had never mentioned anything to her about the dropouts before. In all honesty she hadn't even known they existed until earlier today. What would Gary want with them? They had nothing to do with the school.

It didn't make sense. Which was why she needed to ask him straight up. This all sounded like it was getting way out of hand.

Elliott headed into her dorm room and moved straight to the closet. She decided to go down early to see if he was hanging around already. She opened the doors, but stopped in mid-reach for her sweater. Her stomach churned and she ran back to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth.

Just a dodgy meal yesterday. That was all it was. Nothing to worry about.

* * *

_So much for being early_, she thought grimly as she hurried around the campus towards the football field. It had taken about another half an hour to get over her second round of sickness, and by the time she had freshened up and got changed she was ten minutes late for the game. Not that she really cared. She didn't give a damn about the actual _game_, she just wanted to finally get her hands on Gary again. If she had to she would beat some sense into him. That's if she didn't just end up throwing up on him.

She ignored her stomach flip again and hurried past the large statue that guarded Jock territory. She could already hear the crowd cheering and yelling. So she missed kick off, big deal. It's not like she would be watching the damn game anyway—

She stopped in her tracks at the sound of a loud _bang_. The crowds _oooh-ed_ dramatically. Someone whooped loudly.

What the hell was that? It sounded like an explosion. Elliott might not know much about football, but she was pretty sure it didn't have explosions. Fireworks, maybe? Nah, Crabblesnitch would never let the students loose with fireworks if he had any say in it. There was another loud bang and it got her moving again. She jogged along the path between the two gym buildings and then slowly came to a stop at the sight before her.

There were maybe half a dozen footballers sprawled across the field, groaning and writhing on the ground. The crowd was going absolutely insane, jumping and yelling and cheering. Elliott stood on her toes and squinted, trying to make out what was happening at the top of the field. She could see about four players still standing, and one figure racing towards them. Someone… in the mascot uniform?

'_Go Jimmy_!' Algie's voice floated up from the crowd.

'Can't you all be friends?' Pinky cried mournfully from the sidelines.

Elliott squinted more. Jesus it _was_ Jimmy! Jimmy was taking out the whole frigging football team! She jumped as he hurled something at one of the players, the object exploding on contact. Elliott looked around, wondering where the hell the Prefects and the teachers were. Instead of anyone with authority, she saw three of the bullies; Trent, Wade and Tom, leaning against the railings and yelling for Jimmy to get stuck in. Elliott moved towards them, still staring in awe at the sight of Jimmy pummelling a kid clad in padding.

'What the hell is going on?' she cried.

'Man, Jimmy's kicking _ass_!' Trent hooted. 'He's totally showing those Jock's who's boss!'

'Beat those 'roid monkeys down, Hopkins!' Wade bellowed. '_Yeah_!'

Elliott stood in shock, unable to grasp the scene that was unfolding before her. The third footballer went down under another explosive missile, leaving one remaining. Probably panicking, the remaining footballer raced away across the pitch but Jimmy was on him in an instant. He tackled him to the ground.

'He did it!' Tom yelled. 'Go on Jimmy!'

The crowds roared, ecstatic. Elliott pushed Trent aside and climbed up onto the fence to get a better look. Jimmy got to his feet and threw his arms in the air. Simultaneously, the crowds threw their arms up and cheered deafeningly. She watched as little Pete Kowalski ran onto the pitch and celebrated with Jimmy, punching the air.

'Jimmy's done it!' Trent laughed. 'He's the king of the frickin' school!'

Elliott looked at him but she was too shocked to say anything. She only watched as the footballers dragged themselves off the pitch. The away team were still sitting on their benches, watching the whole thing in bewilderment. After a moment the crowds began spilling down from the stands and ran down onto the field. Elliott looked around in alarm as the three bullies hopped off the fence and ran down the stairs, whooping and hooting like hyenas. Elliott remained where she was, staring in disbelief.

'Jesus…' she muttered. She had no idea that this school take over thing had gotten to be so _epic_. As she watched Jimmy being praised and congratulated by various students, a horrible thought occurred to her. Jimmy had always said he didn't want to rule the school. If he had resorted to this kind of thing just to put a few people in their place, what the hell would someone who _did_ want to rule do?

In that moment she knew Gary was planning something way bigger than she could have ever anticipated. She looked around frantically. Gary had to be here somewhere. He had to be seeing this. She knew he wouldn't miss it for the world. But the guy was like a ghost, he just seemed to melt away…

_There_! She spotted him by the tree at the far end of the pitch, arms folded over his chest and watching the scene on the pitch intently. Elliott climbed down from the fence and ran down the stairs. As she fought through the excited crowds she knew this would be her last chance to try and talk to him. Perhaps it was already too late. Maybe she needed to get him _before_ seeing Jimmy destroy those footballers.

By the time she reached the tree he had gone. She looked around, but there was no sign of him. She sighed and slumped her shoulders. A spot of rain landed on her nose, followed by another, and another. Suddenly it was pouring. The crowd on the football pitch began to yell and run back to the stairs for shelter from the sudden downpour. Elliott remained where she was though, watching them all head away and allowing herself to get soaked.

'What are you here for, Elliott?'

She looked around to see him standing by a dumpster next to the path that led to the observatory. The rain had drenched him through and was dripping from the end of his nose. His hair was flat against his head, his hands balled into fists be his sides. He looked furious.

'It's over, Gary,' she told him, having to speak louder than usual over the sound of the rain. 'Jimmy won. He's got the whole school on his side.'

There was a rumble of thunder somewhere in the distance. 'It's not over,' he told her. 'It's nowhere _near_ over yet. Don't you see? This is just another part of the plan! It's all falling into place!'

Elliott pushed her hair back from her face and wiped the rainwater from her nose. It was dripping from her hair and her clothes and her face, and she knew the small amount of mascara she was wearing was now running down her cheeks. 'You need to forget about this! It's destroying you! It's a frigging obsession, Gary, and it's going to end up killing you if you're not careful.'

He jabbed a finger at her angrily. 'Since when do you care anyway? I know your game. You're with that little bastard! I saw you talking to Petey! You're just as bad as the rest of them!'

Elliott took a step forward. 'I'm not, I swear! I want to help you! I care about you-'

'So you keep saying,' Gary spat venomously, and then chuckled. 'You really thought you were something special, huh? You thought I really wanted to rule the school with you? You're just like the rest of them. Just another pawn.'

Elliott frowned deeply. 'Don't you dare say that, Gary. Don't you _dare._'

He looked momentarily guilty but the anger quickly returned. 'You're out of this. It's none of your business anymore. And stop following me around! I saw you in New Coventry with that Greaseball.'

'Oh you see _everything_, don't you?' Elliott yelled, losing her temper. 'You see absolutely everything expect how stupid you are!'

'I am not stupid!'

'Yes, you are! You're a _moron_! You think you're going to achieve something? Did you _see_ what Jimmy just did out there? He'll do exactly the same thing to you. You're a complete moron if you can't see that.'

Gary just shook his head. 'No. No he won't. He won't get the chance.' He turned and began to stalk away. 'You should keep out of the way if you know what's good for you.'

She chased after him. 'Don't you walk away from me.' She yelled, grabbing his arm. Her fingers were slippery from the rain. 'I'm not finished-'

One thing that Elliott often forgot about Gary was that he was stronger than he looked. That, and he was very impulsive. Looking back she had no idea whether he had meant to do it or not, but the fact was that he did. He grabbed her wrist, pulled it off his arm and shoved her back, hard. She lost her balance and fell onto her back, her head cracking off the ground. For a moment she was just winded, blinking against the rain that poured into her eyes. She turned her head, blinking away the water, and pushed herself up on one elbow. She looked up incredulously at Gary.

'What the hell, man?' she frowned, touching the back of her head.

He gaped at her for a moment, saying nothing. Finally he took a tentative step towards her. 'I… Elliott, I…' He stopped. His eyebrows drew together and the corner of his lip curled up. With a sound that could only be described as a snarl, he turned and stormed away.

Elliott pushed herself up into a sitting position and watched him go, her head spinning from the impact on the ground. She touched the back of her head again and winced at the pain, and then looked at her fingers. The blood turned pink with the rainwater and ran down the side of her hand.

'Guess that's that.' She murmured.


	38. Responsibilities And How To Avoid Them

**Chapter XXXVIII:**

**"Responsibilities And How To Avoid Them"**

'This place is a _zoo_.' Nurse McRae muttered bitterly as she washed her hands in the deep, lime scale stained sink. 'You're all animals, every single one of you.'

Elliott sat on the edge of the bed, still soaked through, and stared down at the floor. Her head was throbbing and she was finding it hard to concentrate on what the nurse was saying, but that wasn't really anything new. Outside she could faintly hear the groaning footballers waiting to be tended to. She had only jumped to first inline because her head was bleeding. It was serious enough to warrant being rushed to the nurse, but not serious enough to bother the hospital about.

'That show out there was absolutely _disgraceful_. You're a bunch of horrible little psychopaths. Brawling in public like that. And I should have known that you would be involved in the whole affair you little harlot.'

Elliott just sighed. 'I wasn't fighting.' She sighed. 'I slipped.'

'Yes, yes. That's what they all say.' Nurse McRae moved behind her with an antiseptic wipe and a dressing. 'I bet you got it while beating up one of the children. I know your kind. Blame the world for your own shortcomings. Well it's nobodies fault that you're a failure but your own, you understand that, girl?'

Elliott lowered an eyebrow in bewilderment. Wow, this lady really was insane. 'You're not going to try and cast my head, are you?'

Nurse McRae snorted. 'Ungrateful bunch of ingrates.' She poked hard at the back of Elliott's head.

'Ow!'

'Well if you kept still-'

'I _am_ still you crazy witch! Geez, remind me again when you decided that nursing was a good life choice for you?'

Nurse McRae stuck the dressing on without taking much care. 'You're lucky your whole brain didn't fall out. Maybe next time you'll be careful when you're out tormenting the younger students.'

Elliott slid off the bed and gently patted the dressing. 'I haven't been beating up little kids. Man, next time I hurt myself I'm just going to let myself bleed to death rather than come here again.'

'Good,' Nurse McRae spat. 'Less work for me. Now get out. I've got a full football team to look at.' She picked up the rubbish from the dressing and tossed it in the wastepaper basket. 'Animals, the lot of you.' She muttered.

Elliott scowled and left the infirmary, weaving between the group of groaning, bloodied and bruised footballers in the waiting area. She took a small bit of satisfaction seeing Ted Thompson semi-conscious with his head rested on Damon West's shoulder, but it didn't cheer her up.

She trudged outside. The rain had stopped now, although it had left behind deep puddles all over campus. Students were still hanging around, chattering excitedly about the events of the game. It was probably going to be big news for a long time. Elliott didn't care anymore. She didn't care about any of it. Let Jimmy rule the school and let Gary follow up with his stupid plans. He wasn't going to listen to her, so why should she care?

Why _did_ she care? He wasn't anything special. Unless you classed megalomania as special.

Elliott pushed her hands in her pockets and then grimaced at how wet she was. She guessed she should get changed before she caught pneumonia or something. The last thing she wanted was another trip to Nurse McRae. She headed down the steps and towards the Girl's Dorm, ignoring the sound of Mandy whining loudly about their routine being ruined. As she had expected, the yard in front of the Girls' Dorm was deserted. As she approached the doors she patted the dressing on the back of her head just to find that it had fallen off already.

'Nurse my ass,' she muttered bitterly. 'I could have done a better job with no arms.'

'Better job at what?'

Elliott stopped at the bottom of the steps and sighed heavily. 'I just want to go to bed.' She said, flatly. 'So if you don't mind…'

Jimmy joined her side. 'You think you're tired? Try running around a football field after a dozen or so guys.'

'Yeah, I saw. Very impressive. Very macho of you.'

Jimmy studied her for a moment. 'What happened to your head?'

'I fell over.' She replied, heading up the stairs. 'I really don't feel like talking tonight.'

'Hey, it's all over now.' Jimmy told her with a shrug. 'Can't we put all of this behind us? Start fresh, yeah?'

She glanced at him over her shoulder, one hand on the handle, she frowned slightly. 'It's nowhere near over, Jimmy.'

He half laughed. 'Did you see what happened on that field? I'm untouchable.'

Elliott just looked at him sympathetically. 'Right. Keep telling yourself that.'

She went inside before he got a chance to say anything else to her. She stood on the other side of the door for a moment, screwing up her eyes against the pain in her head, and then slowly made her way up the stairs to her dorm. She knew that people with head injuries weren't supposed to wander off on their own and sleep, or at least that was what she had heard, but she was mentally exhausted. She couldn't stand another waking moment thinking about Gary or Jimmy or their inevitable clash.

She dropped down on her bed and closed her eyes. Whether she passed out or fell asleep, she wouldn't know, but she was totally out for the count within a minute.

* * *

'Elliott! _Elliott_!'

Elliott jerked awake with a snort and lifted her head, one eye refusing to open and the other rolling around blearily. She wiped at her mouth, finding cold drool there, and then sat up just as her bedroom door flew open.

'Elliott!' Beatrice cried, hurrying in.

Elliott rubbed her eyes. 'What's the matter?'

'There's a letter here for you!' Beatrice waved the light blue envelope above her head and crossed to her bed. She stopped halfway and frowned. 'Elliott, did you go to bed with wet clothes on?'

Elliott glanced down at herself. 'Um… I guess so…' She rubbed her head, and then winced as she accidentally knocked the sore part. She suddenly felt very irritated and scowled grumpily. 'A letter? So what? Couldn't it have waited? I'm concussed, you know.'

'It's from Tokyo.' Beatrice told her.

Elliott stared at her or a moment, before scrambling off the bed and snatching the letter from her hand. She ripped it open and pulled out the letter, scanning over the words.

'Well?' Beatrice asked, watching anxiously. 'What does it say?'

Elliott read over the words for a second time. 'She's leaving Tokyo.' She said in a small voice.

Beatrice smiled. 'Well that's great, isn't it?'

Elliott frowned. 'Not really.'

'Oh?'

'It says… It says she's moving onto Australia. Apparently she owes some money to some people…' She paused to read over a part of the letter again. Her voice had dropped a few pitches when she spoke again. 'She says she doesn't know when she'll be able to contact me. From now on my dad is my legal guardian. She's sent the appropriate papers to him and…' She balled up the letter and lay back on the bed. 'And she had to take back that money she gave to Crabblesnitch for when I leave this place. If she hadn't already paid my tuition in advance, I would have been able to leave now.'

Beatrice stood and stared at her. 'So… she's pretty much abandoned you?' She sighed and shook her head. 'Leaving her own daughter for a Tokyo Rose. It's romantic, but so wrong…'

Elliott sat up again and cradled her head in her hands. 'Can't a day go by without something totally crushing my spirit? Man, I must have done something horrible in a past life.'

Beatrice sat down beside her and rubbed her shoulder. 'It's not all so bad. Your dad doesn't live too far away, does he?'

'I don't want to live with him just the same as he doesn't want to live with me. This _sucks_ so much. I never thought my mom would up sticks like this. _Never_. What a complete bitch.'

Beatrice shrugged her shoulders. 'It's amazing what some people can do.'

'Don't get me started on that.' Elliott muttered. She hung her head and allowed her arms to dangle between her legs. 'You remember around the time we first met and I said I was thinking about tossing myself off the bridge? Well maybe it's time you tell me what the tides are going to be like again.'

Beatrice frowned. 'Don't be ridiculous. Anyway, after the game last night everything is going to be much better. Everyone is getting along now. I mean, just this morning Algie dropped his notebook and he bent down to pick it up without _anyone_ giving him a wedgie. That's like… that never happens.'

Elliott stood up and sighed in exasperation. 'I don't care about that stuff. I don't care about everyone else anymore. I just…' She stopped and rubbed her forehead. 'I can't take this place anymore. Seriously. I've had enough of it. I have to get out of here.'

Beatrice tilted her head and frowned in confusion as Elliott pulled open her wardrobe doors. 'What do you mean? You mean go into town for a while? I'll come with you if you like…'

'No.' Elliott replied. 'I'm leaving this dump. I can't deal with it anymore. I don't know where I'll go but I just can't take it. I can go down to Blue Skies and jump on one of those cargo trains or something.'

Beatrice stood up, frowning. 'Don't be insane, Elliott. That's ridiculous.'

'What, more insane than willingly spending another day here?' Elliott laughed humourlessly as she pulled out her suitcase. 'I sometimes wonder if I'm actually the only sane person here.'

'You can't just leave.' Beatrice insisted. 'Where will you go? How will you make money? You'll end up being one of those skanky back street strippers living in a really bad area and getting involved in all sorts of horrible illegal things. Is another three years of dealing with a few weirdoes worth throwing your whole life down the drain? Really?'

Elliott turned on her, angry because she knew she was right. 'I can't stay here, Beatrice. I'll go mad, I swear.'

'We're all mad!' Beatrice blurted. 'This place has that effect on you! If you can get through it without completely losing the plot then it makes you a better person! My mom always used to tell me that the high tides of life make you a better swimmer.'

Elliott frowned briefly. 'Yeah. And the losers drown.'

'Exactly.' Beatrice nodded. 'If you walk out of here you'll be a loser, Elliott, and I know you're not a loser. You're a nice, kind, albeit pretty self-pitying person but you're going to go on to do some great things with your life. You can't let this place ruin that.'

Elliott looked down at the open suitcase at her feet. 'Beatrice…'

'What is it?'

She looked towards the other girl, eyes wet. 'I think I'm in trouble.'

Beatrice frowned. 'What kind of trouble?'

'I think… I think I need a pregnancy test.'

* * *

**A/N:** Underage pregnancies always make good drama (and I should know, having experienced it first hand lol (I have a 4 year old, I'm not just being weird)) - although she might not be pregnant... could be that she was just one of the many victims of Edna's cat casserole... Okay, enough rambling; there's going to be about five or six more chapters, I definately don't want to go over 50 chapters, because that would be crazy. I reckon I'll get to 44. 44 is a good number. I don't even know why I'm leaving the author's note... I don't really have anything of interest to say at all, do I? Although I did see this really ugly cat today. It had snaggleteeth. Yeah... I'll go be weird elsewhere now... D:


	39. Out Of Mind

**Chapter XL:**

**"Out Of Mind"**

Summer was on its way, which was one good thing she supposed. Although in this part of the world summer usually meant epic rainstorms with blistering sunny intervals. Today though it was slightly pleasant; it was hot enough to come out without a sweater on, but not so hot that you were teaming with sweat by the time you walked ten yards. And to top off such a pleasant day, it was Sunday – meaning the majority of the students were off and around the towns. The campus was practically deserted. Which meant Elliott could brood outside, and in peace.

She sat in the shade of an apple tree, on the grassy raised patch between the Girl's Dorm and the walkway around the school building. There had once been fences up to stop the kids from climbing up here, but they had been pulled down by some public menace. Apparently no one had bothered to replace them.

On reflection, Elliott figured that Beatrice probably hadn't been the best person to confide in about something as serious as pregnancy. The Nerd had freaked out big time, hyperventilating as she tried to figure out what Elliott was going to do if she was going to have a baby. When it got to the point that Beatrice physically couldn't breathe for about thirty seconds, Elliott had to remind her that it was _she_ who might be pregnant, not Beatrice. This only calmed Beatrice down slightly.

She had tried to persuade Elliott to go and see one of the female teachers. But that was out of the question. Who would she go to? Nurse McRae? She would probably tie her to a stick and take her outside to judge in front of the whole school; Mrs Peabody would probably join her; Miss Danvers would request that she be expelled; Miss Carver would probably just give her a huge pile of parenting books from the library and send her on her way. The only realistic option was Miss Phillips, but Elliott simply couldn't bring herself to tell her. It had taken all her courage just to tell _Beatrice._

She shook her head and frowned. Why was she getting so panicked about this? She didn't even know if she was yet, and the fact of the matter was that she probably _wasn't_. Elliott knew she always had to make things harder for herself by worrying about unimportant problems; she always had done.

Although pregnancy wasn't really _unimportant_.

Approaching voices cut into her thoughts and she glanced to her right, frowning slightly. Her frown only deepened as she saw Jimmy Hopkins strolling by, trailed by his new best friends. They all laughed at something he said, the fakeness making Elliott's teeth ache. She leaned out from behind the tree, still remaining seated, and watched as they came to a stop at the bottom of the steps. Mandy strolled over and kissed Jimmy on the cheek.

'Urgh…' Elliott screwed up her nose. Only last week Mandy hated Jimmy.

The group parted and headed off, leaving Jimmy with Petey. Losing interest, Elliott sat back and plucked at the grass around her. Seemed like everything had calmed down after the insanity that was the big game. The students were all getting along together, hardly anyone was getting bullied. But Elliott could sense something brewing. Like the calm before the storm.

_You have to tell Gary_, Beatrice had said. Yeah, like hell she was going to tell Gary. What would he do, drop this whole thing with Jimmy, jump for joy and then start picking baby names? He wouldn't give a crap. And plus, psychos like him are not the kind of people you want around babies.

Elliott screwed up her eyes. Why couldn't she stop _thinking_? So she had been sick yesterday, it didn't mean anything. She didn't even know why she had said that to Beatrice, it had just come out.

'Nothing's wrong.' She mumbled. 'Nothing at all. Everything's fine. Peachy, even.'

'_Psst_! Elliott!'

Elliott glanced around in bewilderment to see Beatrice's hand waving to her over the edge of the raised level. She stood up and moved to the edge, peering down to Beatrice. 'Why are you whispering?' she asked, frowning.

Beatrice glanced around suspiciously, clutching a brown paper bag in her hand. 'I got something for you.' She whispered. 'But I can't give it to you here, someone might see.'

Elliott glanced around. 'Beatrice, there's no one around.'

'There are eyes and ears _everywhere_,' Beatrice hissed. 'Now come on! Quickly!'

Elliott watched after her in puzzlement as Beatrice scampered away behind the Girl's Dorm. She hesitated before climbing down and following her. She caught up with Beatrice by the dumpster. The other girl was fidgety and nervous and kept glancing back over her shoulder worriedly.

'What's wrong with you?' Elliott half smiled. 'You look like you're about to try and sell me come crack. Which actually wouldn't be such a bad thing.'

Beatrice pushed the bag in her hands. 'I managed to get this. Don't ask me how because it's a long and deeply uncomfortable story which involves Fatty, a blonde wig and a rather perplexed chemist store owner. But don't worry, Fatty didn't know I was getting it for you. I told him it was for a science project.'

Already knowing what was waiting for her in the bag, Elliott peered in. Her stomach still turned at the sight of the pregnancy test and she closed the bag again. 'You didn't have to do that.' She sighed.

'Yes I did,' Beatrice nodded, still whispering. 'Because I know you wouldn't have done anything and nine months from now you would have been wandering along, in complete denial about the whole thing and then _poof_, there'd be a little tiny baby.'

'I think there's more to it than just going _poof_…' Elliott frowned. She shook her head and tried to hand back the bag. 'And anyway, I know I'm not now. I guess I was just upset when I said that before and I _had_ cracked my head open the night before so I was probably talking rubbish anyway…'

'Don't give me that, Elliott. We're going upstairs to the bathroom right now and you're going to take that test.'

Elliott laughed. 'Um, no I'm not. I told you, Bea, it's probably just-'

Beatrice scowled, an expression Elliott had never seen her pull before. 'You're going to march up those stairs right now Elliott Nixon and pee on that little stick.'

Elliott blinked at her in surprise. 'Um… okay.' She mumbled.

Beatrice crossed her arms and nodded. 'Good. Now come on. The Girl's Dorm is pretty much empty at the minute so there shouldn't be anyone around.'

Elliott just frowned and muttered an acknowledgment. Beatrice headed around to the front of the dorm, still staring around for anyone who might be in earshot. Elliott looked at the brown bag grimly and then trudged after her.

* * *

'It's been a minute.' Beatrice whispered, face pressed against the cubicle door.

'I _know_ it's been a minute.' Elliott hissed back. 'Can you just be patient? Jesus, you'd think it was you who was knocked up.'

Beatrice looked around in alarm. 'Someone might hear you!'

'There's no one in the building.' Elliott reminded her. 'We're the only losers hanging around in the dorm on a really sunny Sunday.'

'Come on, Elliott. It should be done now.'

'Just a _minute_.'

Beatrice sighed and began to pace anxiously, chewing her thumbnail. After another ten seconds, which seemed like forever to Beatrice, Elliott spoke again.

'Oh, it's doing something.'

'Well what is it doing? How many lines are there?'

'Um… I can't tell.' Elliott paused for a long time. 'One.'

'Well that does that mean? Is that positive?' Beatrice was practically hanging on the wall to stop herself from collapsing. 'Elliott _please_, the tension is killing me. I think I'm going to have a heart attack! You're putting unnecessary stress on-'

The cubicle door opened and Elliott stepped out, rolling up the paper bag. Beatrice stared at her expectantly.

'_Well_?' she almost shrieked.

Elliott half smiled, although she looked a little pale. 'Negative.' She shrugged. 'Guess it was a lot of worry over nothing.'

Beatrice almost collapsed. 'Oh my God… Oh, Elliott never do that to me again. I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest. Are you sure it's negative?' She moved forward to take the bag. 'Let me see.'

Elliott grimaced and snatched the bag back. 'I'm not going to let you hold a stick I just peed on.' She tucked it under her arm and moved to the sink. 'And I think I can tell the difference between one line and two lines.'

Beatrice was having trouble catching her breath. 'This… is… Oh my God, I think I have to go and get some fresh air. Excuse me, Elliott.' She turned to go, but then quickly moved back to Elliott and hugged her tightly. Without a word she left the bathroom, and left Elliott looking after her in bewilderment.

Elliott looked back to the mirror for a moment, and then sighed heavily. She turned and made her way along to her dorm room, clutching the paper bag in her hand. Once in her room she closed the door, walked to the bed, and sat down heavily. After staring at the floor for a few moments, she pulled open the drawer of her desk and tossed the bag inside, containing the unopened and unused pregnancy test.

She just couldn't go through with it.

She probably wasn't pregnant anyway.


	40. News Gets Around

**A/N: **I am never using roman numerals to number my chapters again. It's okay if you have like, 15 chapters or something. But when you get up to Chapter L, you know it's a bit much xD

* * *

**Chapter L:**

**"News Gets Around"**

Elliott decided to try and concentrate on something a little less brain agonising for the rest of the day. Like her Art project, for instance. She hadn't cared about it in the slightest until now; she had never really had the patience to stand with a paintbrush in her hand for hours on end, but now the idea of staring thoughtlessly at drying paint appealed to her more than anything else. So, avoiding any lingering students, she made her way into the school building and up to Ms Phillip's class to get her supplies to take back to the dorm. She might get a few funny looks for working on a Sunday, but to hell with everyone else. From this moment, Elliott decided not to give one damn about a single living person who walked the campus.

She got her canvas and a few tubes of paint and was just about to leave the room when she heard footsteps on the other side and the sound of voices. Automatically she stopped and listened.

'I know, it's unbelievable,' a young female voice said. 'I mean, this school is supposed to be _prestigious_. Can you believe there are tramps like that at Bullworth? If my parents knew they would have me out of here in a flash.'

Elliott tried to place the voice. One of the little kids… Melody, she thought. What the hell was she doing inside school on a Sunday?

'It's so gross.' That was the blonde girl, Karen. Elliott recognised her irritating voice anywhere. 'I mean… that meant whoever left that in the bathroom actually let one of those gross guys actually near her… y'know… with his… y'know. It's _gross_.'

Elliott's eyebrows drew together and she pressed her ear against the door harder.

'Are you sure that's what it said?' Melody asked. 'You're not making it up, are you? Because Sheldon said you make stuff up to make yourself feel more important.'

'Sheldon is a brat.' Karen spat. 'He likes boys too you know. I know what it is. Here, I have it in my pocket.'

Elliott listened. The two girls had stopped near the other side of the door.

'Oh it _is_!' Melody cried. '_Gross_!'

'That was so stupid of them as well, leaving the receipt in the bathroom. I mean… _duh_. How stupid can you get?'

Elliott's heart lurched in her chest. Receipt? Had there been a receipt in the paper bag? She had no idea.

'I wonder who took it then.' Melody mused aloud. 'I think it was Mandy.'

'Maybe. More likely it was Lola. I heard she let Trent touch her private bits.'

'Girls don't have babies from boys touching their private bits, Karen. Maybe she used a boys toilet and got pregnant off the seat.'

Elliott had to stop herself from thumping her head off the wall. _Shitshitshitshit_, she thought.

'Ew, Melody!' Karen whined. 'That's disgusting.'

'Christy Martin told me that's how girls get pregnant.' Melody defended.

'She was making fun of you.' Karen told her. Then she paused. 'Maybe it's Christy who's pregnant.'

'Ooooh, yeah.' Melody agreed. 'She's been wearing her skirt _really_ short lately.'

Karen laughed suddenly. 'What if it's Eunice?'

'_Ew_!' Both girls giggled in unison.

Elliott felt sick. Had she really been stupid enough to leave the receipt for the pregnancy test on the floor in the bathroom? _Really_? What if Mandy had found it instead of those two little kids?

_It's okay_, she told herself. _Calm down. They don't know it was from you. They haven't even _thought_ of you yet_-

'What about that new girl?' Karen suggested. 'You know, the weird one. Who did all of Pedro's work for him.'

'Elliott?' Melody snorted. 'No way. I heard she used to be a boy. Boy's can't have babies, even if they got changed into girls. That's what my mom said when my brother got turned into a girl. She told him he wouldn't be able to have babies or anything.'

'Of course they can.' Karen replied, her voice getting quieter as she walked away. 'Then why else would they turn into girls?'

'Well, you do have a point…'

Their voices dwindled away into incoherent murmurs. When she was sure they had gone, Elliott poked her head out of the door.

Looked like she owed Mandy one for starting that rumour.

* * *

Okay, so taking her mind off things by working was now out of the question, as now Elliott was terrified that she had left more incriminating evidence lying around. She wanted to get rid of the pregnancy test, but then she was frightened that if she binned it someone would find it. Then she was scared if she put it in her pocket to dump in the sea then it might fall out of her pocket and someone might see that. So for now the unused pregnancy test was destined to live inside a sock and underneath one of the loose floorboards under her bed.

She would probably move it to a safer place later.

She left the school and headed into town, not sure why or what she intended doing when she got there, but she just needed to walk. She walked blindly out of the gates, automatically turning right and heading towards Bullworth Town. She could barely face Bullworth Vale these days. And she certainly couldn't face the Carnival. Too many stupid memories.

Elliott's mind had remained in a blissful blankness until she was rudely interrupted by the sound of sirens. She glanced up as a police car whipped by and realised that she was outside of the barbershop. She watched the car like it was the first time she had ever seen one in her life, and then frowned as it skidded to a halt in front of the Town Hall. In fact, there seemed to be an awful lot of people suddenly gathering there.

_For God's sake_, she thought bitterly. _Is there a single place in the world where I can just be alone? Without listening to incessant whining and moaning and…_

She frowned again as she noticed that most of the people were pointing up at the Town Hall. She followed their fingers, and then tilted her head, trying to distinguish what she was looking at.

It looked like someone had spray painted something in luminous pink paint on the very top of the Town Hall. She couldn't really make out the words, but whatever it said it seemed to be mightily pissing off the locals. One woman was yelling that it must have been due to one of those terrible students from Bullworth Academy, and that the place should have been shut down years ago. Another man was ranting about how the whole of civilisation was going down the pan.

Curious, Elliott joined the crowds and squinted at the graffiti. _Bullworthless_, it said.

'Huh,' she mumbled. 'Witty.'

'You, girl!' a voice barked at her suddenly.

She glanced around, bewildered to see a giant police officer advancing on her. 'Um, yeah?'

'Do you know anything about this?' he demanded, pointing up at the Town Hall.

She blinked. 'I know that whoever did that shouldn't have used pink paint.' She replied. 'It's kind of hard to read.'

The officer scowled. 'This is a very serious offence, miss. Do you want me to drag you back to your school and have you explain this to the Principal or are we going to start again? Do you know anything about this?'

Elliott decided a more polite approach was in order. 'Sorry sir, I have no idea. I was just walking by and-'

The police officer just snorted like a gorilla and moved away, asking if anyone had seen anything. Elliott smacked her lips and thought it best that she left before this turned into a Bullworth student lynching. She was already getting the evil eye from some creepy looking hobo. She spun on her heels and headed back along the road towards the school.

Wow, so someone climbed all the way up there just to tag it? Sounded like someone who was craving respect to her. Probably one of those stupid Townies. Looked like something they would do. Plus, they had the writing skills of a three year old.

Elliott glanced up as a bike whizzed past her, followed by the sound of something metal being dropped. She looked down as the fallen object rolled along the pavement and stopped at her feet. She frowned after the person on the bike. Unsurprisingly, it was Jimmy. She glanced down to see what he had dropped.

Now this _was_ surprising. She stooped down and picked up the empty can of pink spray paint. She tapped it on her hand, watching as Jimmy disappeared into the distance, and then slipped the empty can into her pocket.


	41. If You Can't Stand The Heat

**A/N: **I'm SO sorry to everyone who's been waiting for an update on this story. My computer just totally broke down on me. I haven't been able to get online or write anything for ages!! Driving me bloody barmy it was. But yay for computer-minded nerds from next door xD There's a guy who works in the IT department of some office or something living next door to me, and I just _happened_ to mention in passing that my computer was bust, so he fixed it for me. So now I'm back, for as long as my computer stays sane anyway. Hope everyone's had a fun week/weekend :D

* * *

**Chapter LI:**

**"If You Can't Stand The Heat"**

It seemed like Elliott and Jimmy had something in common, being that they had a tendency to leave incriminating evidence lying around in stupid places. The difference was that Elliott was glad Jimmy had slipped up, because now she had something to take her mind off this whole pregnancy thing. Not that she was pregnant. She obviously wasn't, it was just Edna's cooking.

As she headed back towards school, she wondered what she could do with this incriminating evidence. She could do Jimmy a favour and get rid of it, but that was boring. It would be much more fun to stir something up. Or perhaps end this turf war between Gary and Jimmy before it got too much. After all, she was Head Girl now. She had a duty to report troublemakers and the like. Although, if she told Crabblesnitch then that would probably mean Jimmy would be expelled… But then again if Jimmy were no longer at Bullworth, maybe Gary would lose focus on the whole thing…

She scowled at herself. 'You're not helping that psycho out anymore_,_' she mumbled, and then put her hand on the back of her head as if to remind herself how much of a bastard he really was. It did little to help really.

Elliott paused outside the gates of the school, her eyes going up to the bell tower. He would probably be there, scheming away more than likely. If she went up there and told him that they could get Jimmy expelled he would jump and the chance. Then he would probably apologise. Then once again manage to rope her into the whole stupid mess with a few grins and crude jokes. And the sad thing was that she would go along with it all.

Shaking her head, Elliott continued along the path towards Bullworth Vale. She kept her hand on the spray paint can in her pocket and squeezed it tightly, like it would help her make a decision of what to do. If anything it just made her want to go up to the bell tower, but the last person she wanted to see right now was-

Staring at the floor meant she wasn't watching where she was going, and she walked right into someone blocking the path. She stumbled a bit and started to mumble an apology, but then stopped when she saw who it was.

'Hi.' Gary said, the faintest of smirks on his face. 'You should really watch where you're going.'

Elliott felt her eyebrows drawing together. 'Don't even speak to me.' She scowled, and then went to pass him.

'Sorry,' he put his hands up and stepped aside. 'It's just, seeing as you're Head Girl and everything I thought I should come tell you that I'm on my way to see Crabblesnitch.'

Elliott sighed. 'Haven't you got some hiding to be doing? I thought you didn't like to show your face in public these days.'

Gary just eyed her, expression unreadable. 'You want to give me that paint can?' he asked, taking her off guard.

She blinked. 'What?'

'The spray paint can in your pocket. The one Jimmy used to deface the Town Hall. Because, well, it wasn't a very bright thing for you to do. Picking it up, I mean. You know if you're caught with it they'll automatically suspect _you_ of doing it. I think that was why Jimmy threw it away…'

Elliott narrowed her eyes. 'What makes you think I have it?'

He nodded to her pocket. 'I can see the outline of it in your pocket. It's too long to be a soda can.' He held his hand out and shrugged. 'I'm trying to help.'

'_Help_? Seriously? After the frigging stress you've caused me the past few weeks. Like I believe you want to help me, Gary. I don't even want to see you. In fact, for the rest of my life I'm probably going to automatically despise people called Gary before I even get to know them.' She looked him up and down with distaste and then turned away. 'Hurry up and get yourself expelled so I don't have to run into you all the time.'

Gary trotted after her until he fell into step by her side. 'You do know what's going to happen, don't you? The police are going to get to this school any minute now. Crabblesnitch is going to have locker searches.'

'Then it's a good job it's in my pocket and not in my locker.'

'He'll get you to turn out your pockets. Anyone with spray paint will be taken to the office. Anyone with _pink_ spray paint will be automatically considered guilty and kicked out of this place so fast you won't even realise until you're waiting in line to get your instant mashed potatoes in juvy.'

Elliott frowned at him, but now she was more troubled than annoyed. Was he really trying to help her, or was this just another stupid scheme? 'You just want the spray paint can so you can give it to Crabblesnitch and get Jimmy expelled.'

'If I had it then he would think it was me who did it. I'm offering to get rid of it for you.'

'I'm quite capable of putting something in the bin, thank you.'

'Elliott, I'm sorry about everything, okay? I really am. I've just been… a bit all over the place the past few days. I don't want the can to get back at Jimmy, I just want things back the way they were. Seriously.' He reached out and grabbed her wrist. 'I miss you-'

Elliott whirled around and shoved him back quickly. He teetered on the curb precariously before a car sped past. Another step back and he would have been under the wheels. 'Don't you touch me!' she yelled at him. 'I can't _stand_ you, you get that? You're such a… a condescending, arrogant, self-centred, scheming little wretch and I can barely _look_ at you without feeling physically _sick_.' She was practically trembling with rage. Gary looked at her, expression a mixture of shock and amusement, but his eyes looked dark. She reached inside her pocket and pulled out the spray can. 'Take the fucking can.' She cried, hurling it at his feet. 'Now just get away from me!'

He stooped down and picked up the can, laughing lazily. 'Come on, Elle, you don't mean that-'

'I wish I'd never met you,' Elliott spat at him. 'You're easily the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Ever.'

Gary's smirk faded and he frowned, hurt. 'Elliott-'

She just glared at him and turned around, marching away up the drive that lead to the car park. He yelled her name once more but again she ignored him. He didn't bother following her and she was glad, because if he had she probably would have broken down and told him everything. The most important part of 'everything' being the pregnancy test that was hidden in her room.

Maybe she should really do something about that. There was no use in pretending it wasn't happening. This was serious. She had to…

Something caught her eye behind the bike sheds as she reached the car park and she came to a stop, frowning. Black smoke was rising from somewhere. On campus?

'The gym is on fire!' a shrill voice cried from somewhere.

'Whoo, yeah!' someone else cried.

'I bet it's because Damon West thought too hard!' another added.

And there was yet another distraction for Elliott to take her mind off the more important things. She picked up the pace and joined the small crowd of students that were hurrying around to the gym to inspect the damage.

* * *

Black smoke billowed from the top of the building and crept out from beneath the doors. There was quite a crowd now, watching the gym slowly smoulder away with a dark fascination that all humans have when watching something being destroyed. Mr Burton was standing on the basketball court, hands in his hair and yelling furiously, as if he could order the flames to fizzle out. Jocks stood around him, staring up helplessly.

'What the hell is happening?' Elliott asked the nearest person, who happened to be Christy.

'The gym is on _fire_,' Christy replied. 'Can you believe that?'

'Well… yeah,' Elliott answered. 'I can see the smoke. I meant to ask _how_ is this happening?'

'No clue,' Christy replied. 'It was like this when I came down to meet Kirby.'

'Is there anyone inside?'

'Bummer on them if there is.' Christy shrugged in response. She glanced at her watch, looking like the burning gym had become boring to her. 'I wonder where Kirby is…?'

Elliott continued to watch, more curious than horrified. A couple of the other kids were losing it a bit, but most of them were cheering. She noticed the irony that for once the fire alarm wasn't going off. Would figure when there was a real fire. She frowned thoughtfully, trying to figure out a list of suspects. It couldn't have been Gary as she had been with him, unless he set a slow burning fire and then ran out to the front of the school to speak to her. She figured he probably _could_ have done it, but she knew that he didn't like to get his hands dirty. He always could have gotten someone else to do it of course…

'_Hopkins_!' Mr Burton bellowed suddenly.

Elliott looked around to see that Jimmy had appeared and was currently being screamed at by Mr Burton. Apparently he was absolutely adamant that Jimmy was behind the burning. Jimmy was an unlikely candidate too, seeing as he had just been vandalising the town hall only an hour earlier. Although again he had plenty of time to get into the gym…

'_Help_!'

Elliott and the rest of the crowd looked around at the burning building, as there was another yell for help. Christy grabbed Elliott's arm tightly.

'That sounds like Kirby!' she cried.

'There's no way a fire service are going to get here in time.' Elliott pointed out. 'Someone's going to have to go inside.'

Christy looked at her with wide eyes. 'Are you going to go inside?'

'Are you kidding me?' Elliott snorted. 'I can think of a million and one less painful ways of killing myself than burning alive.'

Christy wailed suddenly, putting her hands to her cheeks. 'Oh my _God_, Kirby is going to be burned alive!'

'Hey, Jimmy's going in!' one of the Nerd spectators pointed out.

Elliott and Christy looked around to see that Jimmy was indeed running into the building, and no one appeared to be stopping him. Elliott shook her head. 'Geez, what a show off.' She mumbled.

'Oh I knew Jimmy would save them,' Christy gushed. 'He's such a hero.'

'So much for Kirby.' Elliott muttered. She glanced around to see who else was in the crowd. Pretty much the whole school was here, including most of the faculty. There were a few faces missing, however. Jimmy, obviously. Mandy, a handful of Jocks, Johnny Vincent, Lola and Gary. If this was Gary's doing, he would most certainly be hanging around somewhere. His room in the bell tower didn't look over the gym, so if he wanted to see he would have to show his face.

'Who the hell is that?' someone yelled, pointing a finger that almost poked Elliott in the eye. She looked around to see a young kid with a shaved head sprinting out of the doors to the swimming pool, grinning insanely. The sight of the bewildered crowds only seemed to make him even more ecstatic and he turned and ran down the path towards the football field. Mr Burton and a few others chased him, but it was obvious they weren't going to catch him.

'Dude,' Trent said from somewhere nearby. 'That's one of those drop out kids. Man we should totally go down to Blue Skies and kick their asses.'

'Are you kidding?' Tom replied. 'Can you remember what they did to Troy?'

'What did they do?' Troy asked in bewilderment.

'If you can't remember then that just says it all, doesn't it?' Tom told him. 'We should go down with some bats and some firecrackers and catch them off guard. Then they won't get the chance to use Troy's head as a basketball again.'

'Use my head as a what?' Troy asked, still bewildered.

Elliott frowned just as a bunch of smoke covered, coughing jocks emerged from the gym, Mandy amongst them. A few seconds later and Jimmy came out of the doors of the pool house, rubbing his head. The sound of sirens began to grow as the fire engines finally reached the school.

So it was a Townie who set the fire. To Elliott, seeing that Townie run out of the gym was equivalent to seeing Gary running out with a petrol can.


	42. Back To Square One

**A/N: **Ooooh this is nearly finished now. I think there are about three more chapters... Phew, this story is SO much longer than I intended it being. You have any idea how much I had to play Bully to make sure I got bits right? Not that I mind, because... well, it's awesome xD Like you lovely reviewers :D

* * *

**Chapter LII:**

**"Back To Square One"**

'I was so frightened that I was going to end up with rabies. I had to get a tetanus shot and everything.'

'One of them bit you?'

Beatrice shuddered and shook her head. 'God no. I just didn't want to run the risk. Better to be safe than sorry.'

Elliott took a moment to imagine a rat that could give you rabies just by staring at you, and then decided it wouldn't be very nice. She grimaced and then leaned back in her seat, looking towards the stairs that led up to the school building. Everything had calmed down since yesterday, but it had left the campus eerily quiet. Even Algie had managed to pass Trent, Wade and Troy without so much as a passing glance. 'Yesterday was so weird,' she remarked. 'The rats in the library, Johnny Vincent getting locked up in Happy Volts, the gym burning…'

'Well you know what they say about bad luck coming in threes.' Beatrice shrugged whilst pushing her glasses up her nose. 'At least no one got hurt.'

Elliott smirked. 'Like you weren't wishing that Mandy didn't get out of that gym.'

'Elliott! I thought no such thing!' She paused. 'Okay, maybe just for a minute…'

'Something big is going to happen.' Elliott decided, glancing around the quiet campus. 'I can feel it. You know when you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach?'

Beatrice glanced away casually. 'That might not be what you think it is.'

Elliott shot her an irritated look. 'Can we just forget about that? It's over and done with. No babies.'

'Okay. No babies. Sorry.'

'And try not to mention it while we're sitting outside. Actually, don't mention it ever. It's like it never happened.'

'Sorry. It was just a big shock to me. I don't tend to be the one that people come to about those kind of things, y'know? I firmly believe that you should wait until the right person comes along just to _avoid_ this kind of thing. How on Earth would I be able to get through medical school while worrying about things like being preg-'

'What did I just say?' Elliott snapped. 'Please, stop talking about it.'

Beatrice raised her eyebrows. 'Okay, sorry. I was just saying…'

'Yeah well don't.' Elliott frowned, leaning forward on her knees.

The two of them sat quietly for a moment while Elliott sulked. Finding the silence uncomfortable, Beatrice got to her feet. 'Well seeing as the library is clear now I'm going to go and get started on my Biology coursework.'

'Didn't you finish that already?'

'Well, yes. But I like to have two different versions in case I decide the one I've already got isn't good enough. See you later.'

Elliott watched Beatrice head away towards the library. _Weird_, she thought. She couldn't understand people who did more work than they actually needed to. Although on the subject of coursework, she still needed to finish off her painting for Art. And she needed to finish her Math coursework. And her History.

Hell, with all that had been going on recently she had completely forgot that she actually had work to be doing. Everything had to be completed by the end of the school year, which was only two months away. The year had flown over considering. She stood up and started towards the stairs that led up to the main building. Classes had been cancelled because of the insanity of the day, but the teachers were still around. Surely they wouldn't mind if she turned up to do some work. And plus, it would be something else to keep her distracted.

The door thudded open before she got a chance to open it herself. Jimmy stormed out, fists clenched by his sides. He marched right past her, bumping shoulders with her roughly.

'Watch it!' she scowled, rubbing her shoulder. 'What are you, blind?'

Jimmy whirled around and instantly she regretted getting in his way. She didn't think she had ever seen anyone look so angry. Elliott closed her mouth and shrugged.

'It's okay, forget it…' she murmured.

'You!' Jimmy cried, pointing a finger at her and advancing two steps. 'You can tell your bitch that when I see him, I'm going to kill him for squealing. You understand? I'm going to rip his scheming little head off. If he knows what's good for him he's going to skip town and get as far away from me as possible, because I'm going to _end_ that guy!'

Elliott blinked. 'Um…' She stopped and considered her response. 'Is something wrong?'

'I'll tell you what's wrong,' Jimmy growled. 'This whole damn place is wrong! I stand up to these losers and _I'm_ the one who gets punished.' He managed to regain a little of his composure and waved a dismissive hand before turning away. 'Bullworth isn't for me. It's for bullies and losers.'

Elliott frowned vaguely. 'What?'

He whirled around to her impatiently. 'I've been expelled! Happy now? That's what you wanted, wasn't it? Well there you go. Well done. Go have a party.'

'You've been expelled?' Elliott cried. 'Seriously? Why?'

'Because Gary told Crabblesnitch that it was me who _defaced_ the Town Hall.' He scowled. 'And I'm more than likely getting the blame for burning the school gym, even though everyone saw that Townie kid running out! Plus every idiot in this place blames me for their own stupid problems because they're too dumb to deal with them.'

Elliott scratched her head, trying to understand. 'You're _expelled_?' she repeated.

'They're just waiting to get in touch with my mom then I'm out of here.' Jimmy told her, still scowling. He sighed and shook his head. 'Screw this place. Screw all of you. I'm outta here.' He began to stalk away, muttering irritably under his breath.

'Hey, wait a minute,' Elliott said, following him. 'It was Gary that got you expelled?'

'Well, yeah!' Jimmy replied angrily. 'It's what he's wanted all along, isn't it? You should know that. He's your boyfriend.'

Elliott frowned defensively as she walked alongside him. 'He's not my _boyfriend_. Actually I pretty much hate him at the moment. Probably more than you do.'

'That's unlikely.' Jimmy muttered.

Elliott half laughed. 'Oh, believe me, it's likely.'

He glanced at her briefly, still frowning. 'Was it Gary behind the gym getting burned down?'

She hesitated. She knew that he had been planning something with the Townies, and in all probability it was to get them to burn the gym down and put the rats in the crates and steal the Preppies boxing trophies, but she didn't have any proof of that. She could tell Jimmy about that day in New Coventry with Johnny Vincent and the three Townies, but it could have been nothing. And plus, a small part of her still wanted to defend Gary, no matter how much she thought she hated him.

'I don't know.' She replied. 'I mean, I haven't spoken to him properly for a while. And… well, if I'm completely honest I have no idea what he was planning even when we _did_ talk.' She shrugged in embarrassment. 'I guess I was just a blind follower.'

Jimmy frowned briefly, but he didn't look quite as angry. 'Guess you were.' He told her. 'Well, I've got some things to be doing. Like packing my stuff. I'll see you later.'

Elliott allowed him to walk the rest of the way to the boy's dorm unescorted. She stood in the centre of the walkway between the two dorms and looked up at the school building.

* * *

'Gary?' She nudged the old, creaky door with her foot. 'Are you here?'

She got no response from the small, musty room. She stood in the doorway for a moment, peering around. It didn't even look like anyone had been here since the last time she had come up looking for him. She wouldn't be surprised if he had abandoned this room, probably to avoid her poking her nose in and pestering him every five minutes. Although if he didn't want to see her why did he keep popping up and acting like nothing was wrong? She guessed that had something to do with his slightly unstable personality.

Elliott lingered in the doorway for a moment. She could wait for him, after all she had nothing better to be doing. But what exactly was she going to say to him? Try and talk him about of all of this? Obviously that wasn't working and she was sick of hearing herself trying to tell him. She could tell him about Jimmy being expelled, but she knew he would already know. She had a feeling that she had come to tell him about the pregnancy test.

She moved to the window and peered out onto the campus. Everything was still pretty quiet. She watched Jimmy walking out of the boy's dorm, not in his uniform, and head out of the school gates. This must suck for Jimmy, but he should have known better than to graffiti the Town Hall. In a way, this was all his own fault; it had nothing to do with Gary.

'I thought you hated me.'

Elliott didn't bother turning around, but she was still a little surprised. She hadn't expected him to turn up. 'I strongly dislike you. If it's any constellation it's not quite _hate_.'

She couldn't see him, but she could sense him in the doorway. After a moment he walked in and joined her side, looking out of the window.

'Jimmy's gone then.' Elliott said, breaking the silence.

'He won't be gone for long.'

'Yeah, I figured.'

They both fell silent again for a little while. Elliott realised that this was the first time in weeks they had managed to stay within a couple of meters of each other without arguing or shoving each other.

'I hope you haven't come up here to recite your peace speech again.' Gary said, finally moving away from the window and sitting on the bed.

'Nah,' Elliott replied. 'I can't be bothered.'

'So why have you come all the way up here?'

She thought about it, and then shrugged. 'I was bored.'

'You want me to help you pass some time?' he asked, cheekily.

Elliott turned around, unsmiling. 'There's something I should tell you.' She said, casting her eyes down. 'And it's… well, I guess it's pretty important.'

Gary tilted his head curiously. 'Important? Sounds boring.'

'It's not. Trust me.'

He lay back on the bed, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. 'You're not going to tell me that you really did used to be a guy, are you? Because I think I would have noticed.'

Elliott rolled her eyes impatient. 'Can't you be serious for five minutes?'

He shrugged. 'Don't know. I haven't tried for that long. I think I can last about three minutes…'

'Gary, this is important. Really. I think I might be-'

'Let me tell you what I think first,' Gary replied, rolling on his side and propping his head up to look at her. 'I think you just wanted to see me, so you made up an excuse to come up here.' He grinned. 'Is that right? I'm right, aren't I?'

Elliott felt a pang of irritation. 'That's not it at all.'

'Don't think I don't know what you're feeling,' he went on. 'You like me. You like me a lot. But at the same time you can't stand the sight of me. Which means that you hate yourself for liking me. You hate me, and yet you keep getting yourself involved in my business. You can't make up your mind whether to beat the crap out of me or hop back into bed, right? If you want you can go ahead and do both.' He grinned and winked.

Disgusted, Elliott pushed away from the desk. 'Forget it.' She muttered, and headed for the door.

'Aren't you going to tell me your important news?'

She glanced back to him and decided that no, she wasn't. For starters, she hadn't even taken the test yet so it could be a whole load of fuss about nothing. Even if it turned out she _was_ pregnant, did she really want him to get involved? Did she really think he would _want_ to get involved?

'It wouldn't interest you.' She said, and pulled open the door.

'The offer still stands, Elliott,' he called to her as she started to leave. 'We can do this together.'

She hesitated. 'I don't think so.' She said. 'See you, Gary.'

'Bye, Elle.'

She didn't look back, and quietly closed the door behind her.


	43. And Holy Hell Breaks Loose

**Chapter LIII:**

**"And Holy Hell Breaks Loose"**

Elliott was nervous. She was nervous because everyone else on campus seemed to be nervous. Everyone was twitchy and short tempered. Something was brewing, she knew, but she had no idea what. And neither did anyone else. The good feeling between the cliques that Jimmy had secured only a few days earlier had now completely evaporated, and the hostility had returned. The Greasers and the Preps hated each other more than ever. The Jocks were giving the Nerds a harder time than usual. It had only been yesterday when Jimmy had been expelled, and already everything was spiralling down.

Something was getting ready to kick off. Something _big._

Elliott stayed in her room, watching out of the window. She was most certainly not going to risk her neck out there today. It was like her first day again; watching the other students torturing each other from the safety of her dorm room. Although on her first day she hadn't been able to do it for very long seeing as Mrs Peabody was on constant patrol. Mrs Peabody wasn't around today. In fact, none of the faculty were around. There were no Prefects patrolling the grounds and classes had been cancelled. These things only added to the tense atmosphere in Bullworth Academy.

Was Gary going to make his move today? He had seemed unusually serene yesterday taking that Jimmy had been expelled. She had expected him to be bouncing all over the place, but he was just normal. Well, whatever passed as normal for Gary anyway. Their brief talk had upset her a little, but even though she had said goodbye to him she knew she was going to see him at least once more before all this was over.

Elliott looked away from the window and towards her current hiding place for the pregnancy test. She had moved it around about five or six times, terrified of it being discovered. Currently it was in one of her shoes in the closet. She couldn't put it off any longer. This wasn't going to go away. She sighed, and then moved to the closet.

'You can do this,' she muttered, reaching into the closet for the brown bag that contained the test. 'You're going to do it and it's going to be negative. Nothing to worry about. You'll laugh because you were so worried.'

Her spoken reassurances to herself did little to help, but she forced herself to move to the bathroom anyway. The dorm was empty apart from a few girls downstairs so she didn't have to worry about being interrupted. She quickly shut herself up in one of the toilet cubicles and took the box out of the bag. She turned it over and quickly read the instructions on the back.

'Pee and wait a minute.' She murmured. 'Sounds simple.'

Elliott readied herself, staring at the box for a moment. It would have been nice to have someone with her, but there was no way she could go get Beatrice now and tell her that she had lied about taking it. Although it would be funny if it turned out she _was_ pregnant after she had said she wasn't…

No, that wouldn't be funny at all.

With a shaky exhale, Elliot began to open the box, but was stopped by a shrill scream coming from downstairs.

'_Boys_!' one of the girls squealed.

'That's right, ladies!' Johnny Vincent's voice rang out. 'This is Johnny Vincent's dorm now!'

Lots of squealing and banging followed, mingled with male laughter. Elliott stuffed the box into her pocket and hurried out of the bathroom, running along the corridor to the top of the stairs. She peered over to see Hal and Peanut laughing crazily, covering the wall with green spray paint.

'Mark this place!' Johnny ordered. 'This is our dorm now! Make sure everyone knows it!'

Elliott hurried back along to her room. What the hell were they thinking? Where the hell were the Prefects? Where was Mrs Peabody? There was no way she was risking going past them to go outside, but they would more than likely make their way upstairs sooner or later and she didn't want to be hiding up here when they did. Yelling from outside caught her attention and she ran to the window, clumsily pushing the blinds aside to see out. She stared in disbelief at what she was witnessing.

The whole campus looked like a war zone. Everyone was fighting. The girls were fleeing their dorm, dodging firecrackers and stink bombs. All the cliques were out there and were beating the crap out of each other. It was absolute carnage.

Was this what Gary had wanted? To get everyone fighting? Surely not. What on Earth would he achieve by getting everyone to fight?

'Peanut, go see if anyone's upstairs!' Johnny ordered. 'This is our place now, everyone needs to know that!'

'Sure, Johnny!' Peanut replied keenly.

Elliott ran for the door. She glanced both ways down the corridor. She could try running past the Greasers, but she knew from experience that they were pretty quick. She knew they wouldn't beat her up, but still she didn't want to get in their way. She could hear Peanut coming up the stairs, so she ran for the door that led up to the attic. She hurried across the musty attic to the window. She looked down and felt nauseated by the height, but the sound of Peanut climbing the stairs to the attic got her moving. She clumsily climbed out of the window and down the wooden trellis.

Elliott didn't feel much safer out of the girl's dorm. In fact, she felt even more anxious than trapped inside with three psycho Greasers. At least in there she didn't have much of a chance of being hit by stray fists or flying firecrackers. The sensible thing was to get as far away from the school as possible, so she ducked her head and ran towards the gates.

She felt like she was in some war movie. Various things soared over her head as she ran; stones, rocks, bricks, balls, anything that could inflict some sort of damage. She risked a quick glance up and saw three Nerds beating down Kirby Olsen with yardsticks. She was too busy watching them to notice that the school gates were currently locked, so she slammed right into them and landed on her backside.

'What the…?' she started, and then saw the heavy chains tangled around the gates. Elliott got to her feet and shook them, but there was no way they were going to open until the chains were off. She pulled the bars, but that did nothing to aid her. The sound of sirens filled the air. It hadn't taken long for the police to catch wind of what was happening.

At the gate she was just another target. She realised that when a brick missed her head by inches, and instead sailed through the bars and into the road outside. She looked around wildly for any decent hiding place, and she settled on the school. She looked worriedly at the dozens of brawling students between her and the building and took a deep breath before breaking into a sprint.

'Elliott!' a nasal voice yelled. '_Elliott_! Come give us a hand!'

She looked around in bewilderment to see the three Nerds who had been beating Kirby now struggling to drag him to a nearby bin. She hesitated, registering the peculiar scene, before carrying on across the campus, dodging flying fists and kicks. She ran up the steps and burst through the doors, slamming them behind her.

The building was dark and quiet. The only sound was of the brawling students outside, but now they all sounded distant and ghostly. Elliott stayed where she was, leaning against the door and breathing heavily.

What the hell was _that_? She had never seen so many people go completely insane so quickly. She had known something was going to happen but on this _scale_… It was absolute mayhem out there. Someone was going to wind up dead at this rate. There was no way Gary could have started a riot on this scale; she refused to believe it. _No one_ could. The only way she could explain what was happening out there was simply just that everyone was insane. _Bullworth Academy: School For The Downright Psychotic_. Sounded about right.

A thump from upstairs caught her attention and she glanced up. It seemed to have come from the Principal's office. Crabblesnitch must be here, he was _always_ here. Surely he would be able to calm everyone down? Had he even _noticed_? It was likely that he hadn't as he didn't seem to notice the amount of bullying that went on from day to day.

There was another thump, and Elliott ran towards the stairs, still out of breath from her sprint into the building. She ran into the reception, expecting to see Miss Danvers, but it was deserted.

'Hello?' she called. 'Is there anyone in here?'

No answer. She tentatively moved towards the door of Crabblesnitch's office. She knew it was prohibited for anyone to go inside without permission, but these were special circumstances. She reached out for the handle.

'Well, you were the last person I expected to show up.'

Elliott whirled around to see Gary standing there. His eyes were wide and a huge grin was plastered on his face. He looked completely wild. Upon seeing him she knew that he was behind the riot outside, and that everything was going to way he wanted it to.

'What the hell is going on, Gary?' she demanded angrily. 'It's chaos out there!'

Gary giggled. He sounded manic. 'I know! Isn't it great?'

She stared at him. 'Are you kidding me? Those kids are going to kill each other out there!'

'Who is that?' Crabblesnitch's voice boomed from his office. 'Get in here and untie me at once!'

Elliott's eyebrows shot up. 'You _tied up _Crabblesnitch?' she cried.

Gary giggled again. 'It's hilarious, isn't it?' He waved a hand to her and began to dash away, moving in quick jerky movements. 'Follow me.'

'Gary!' Elliott yelled after him. 'Ga-' She sighed and hurried after him. Her head felt fuzzy.

Gary was quickly moving along the corridor and she knew he was headed for the History room. She caught up with him and grabbed the back of his sweater.

'Stop!' she ordered. 'Just… What the hell are you doing? Are you completely out of your mind?'

'It's a possibility,' he replied, still grinning. 'But you must be just as out of your mind for waiting until now to ask me that. Now come on, you don't want to miss this-' He started away again but she pulled him back.

'You have to stop this before it really gets out of hand,' she told him. 'This is… Jesus _Christ_ what the hell are you thinking? Is this what you wanted? All this time you just wanted a school wide riot?'

He shook his head. His eyes seemed glazed over. 'No, no… it's much more than that, Elliott.' He grabbed her arms. 'They're _mine_ now. All of those brainless morons are right where they're supposed to be. Now all I need is for Jimmy to show up and-'

'Jimmy?' Elliott yelled. 'Jimmy will _kill_ you!'

Gary just shook his head and pulled her towards the History room. 'Seriously, you'll want to see this-'

She tried to pull away from him. 'Get off me! You're insane!'

He gripped her arms tightly. 'Come on, Elle, play the game!'

She struggled with him, trying to pry his hands off her arms. Finally she managed to shove him back and she backed away, shaking her head.

'You're a _freak_!' she yelled. 'I can't believe I…'

Elliott trailed off, looking at Gary. His grin had gone and he was frowning at something on the floor. She felt a heavy, sick feeling in her stomach and followed his gaze. Between them, on the floor, lay the box containing the pregnancy test that had fallen out of her pocket during the struggle. Quickly, Elliott snatched it up. Gary stared at her silently.

'It's not mine,' Elliott said. 'It's… I…' She stopped. 'I thought I might have been but I…'

He continued to stare at her, saying nothing.

Elliott licked her lips nervously and rubbed her forehead. 'It's not…' She couldn't think up of a good lie, and it was frustrating because she had always been good with lying on the spot. She sighed heavily. 'Call this off, Gary. Please.'

He glanced to the History room beside him, taking in a deep breath. 'In there.' He said in a quiet voice. 'We can talk.'

Elliott breathed out in relief and nodded. 'Okay.'

Gary held open the door for him and she went inside. She turned to speak to him, just to see the door slam behind her. Her eyes widened and she moved to it, peering out of the small window. She watched in disbelief as Gary locked the door from the other side.

'Gary!' she yelled. 'What the hell? Open the door!'

He looked at her through the glass. 'I'll be back.' He told her, and then disappeared out of sight.

Elliott pounded on the door, kicking it angrily. '_Gary you bastard_!' she yelled. 'Open the door! _Open the fucking door_!'

She rattled the handle but the door wouldn't budge. She strained to see along the corridor through the window, but she couldn't see around the corner. She kicked the door one last time and leaned against it. A moment later and she heard the thump of the entrance doors opening, followed by yelling. She tried to see out of the little window and was just about to bang on it again when the intercom system crackled into life.

'_Your attention please_!' Gary's voice cried over the speakers. _'Jimmy is complete human trash_!'

Elliott kicked the door angrily. 'Bastard! She yelled, before whirling around and looking for another escape route. She ran to the window and hauled it open.


	44. Going Out In Style

**A/N: **Oooooh, nearly finished. One more chapter left of this. 45 is a good number, isn't it? 4 and 5 go together nicely. They should get married. I think 4 will be the lady, and 5 will be the man. I've always seen even numbers as being very girly for some reason... Or they could be genderless, whatever tickles your pickle.

Okay that's enough of the weird number ramble (where ever that came from) YES one more chapter, which will be up tomorrow. I think I've caught up on my week absence with all these updates so I'm going to rest. And you won't have long to wait for the sequel to this story, it'll be up on Saturday methinks. That's if you want it lol xD

* * *

**Chapter LIV:**

**"Going Out In Style"**

'Rain.' Elliott grumbled as she stuck her head out of the window. 'Figures.'

Despite the sudden downpour, the students below were still fighting like animals, punching and kicking and grappling each other. Elliott watched them for a moment. She could sit inside the safety of this room and wait until everyone had killed each other or the police got through the gates to arrest everyone. She could probably shimmy along the ledge and get onto the balcony, then climb through one of the windows, but it seemed like an awful lot of effort. And plus it was raining, which would make it slippery. And she wasn't a big fan of heights.

But she couldn't sit in this room and just _wait_. She would go mad. Right now Gary and Jimmy were probably beating ten piles of shit out of each other. About half an hour ago she would have wanted to stop them, but now she wanted to see Gary get a good hiding. He locked her in here even though he _knew_…

She gritted her teeth and cursed him under her breath, and then started to climb out of the window. Half of her was soaked before she had even got completely out. There was no way she was going to be able to climb along there, but it was her only way of getting out-

'You're not gonna jump, are you?'

Elliott looked around in surprise to see the door now standing open and a guy looking at her curiously. She recognised him from New Coventry; he was the head of the Townie clique. Edgar.

'What the hell are you doing here?' she scowled, stopping half in and half out the window.

'We're helping Jimmy,' Edgar replied. 'Wait, you're that chick with was with Johnny Vincent, aren't you?'

Elliott climbed back inside, shaking the rain from her face. 'You're helping Jimmy? I thought you lot were doing Gary's dirty work for him?'

'That was before we realised Gary is nothing but a dirty sneak,' Edgar told her. 'We're with Jimmy now.'

Elliott frowned and moved past him into the corridor. 'Sounds to me like you're not the most loyal of fr- _oof_!' She walked straight into something hard, hurting her cheek. She stepped back and glanced up. 'Oh,' she said to the giant before her. 'I um… didn't see you there.'

Russell frowned and cracked his knuckles. 'Russell don't mind.'

Elliott blinked. 'Oh-kay.' She turned to Edgar. 'Where did they go? Gary and Jimmy?'

'Up to the Bell Tower I think,' Edgar replied. 'Whose side are you on anyway? Jimmy said you're dating that psycho.'

Elliott sighed. 'I'm not-' She stopped and shook her head. 'I'm not on anyone's side right now.' She turned again and for the second time bumped into Russell. 'For God's sake, Russell! Get out of my way!'

Russell stepped aside. 'Sorry.'

She stormed past him towards the Bell tower.

'It's no good trying to talk them out of it!' Edgar called after her. 'They won't listen to you now. They've both been waiting too long for this.'

Elliott ignored him and quickened her pace. Thankfully the doors to the Bell Tower hadn't been locked, so she quickly ran through them and took the stairs two at a time. She passed the room where Gary had been staying without slowing, and kept on going up.

Finally she reached a door that was standing slightly ajar. She pushed it and stepped out, only to find herself on scaffolding. Since when had they been working on the Bell Tower? She hadn't even noticed. A long beam bridged the gap between the platform she was on and the next, but she had no intention of trying to cross it. She could tell from the various pieces of brick lying around that this was the route they had gone. She cursed again and went back inside, continuing up the stairs.

As she got higher she could hear their voices. Well at least that told her that she was getting closer, and that they were both still alive. Although it appeared that they were at the very top of the tower. Two psychos in a high place don't stay in a high place for very long.

'The thing is, if I win you're just another punk!' Gary's voice floated down from above, spurring her to move quicker. 'You win and you'll be sent away even quicker for beating up the head boy!'

'Why'd you do it, Gary?' Jimmy demanded.

_Jimmy_, Elliott thought grimly. _Ignorant to the end._

'Because I can!' Gary cried. 'Because making little people like you and the morons who run this place eat out of the palm of my hand feels great!'

Elliott came to a stop underneath the trapdoor that led onto the roof, breathing heavily. She wouldn't be able to climb up until she caught her breath. And also she needed to hear what they were saying.

'But I never did anything to you!' Jimmy insisted.

'You would have if I'd given you the chance! Face it! I'm smarter than you!' Gary laughed crazily and it rang through Elliott, making her feel sick. He was crazy. Completely out of his tree. All this was just to prove that he was better than Jimmy. Everything had been about Jimmy. He had used her to get to Jimmy, she saw that now, and she felt like an idiot for ignoring everyone who had tried to tell her that.

'Oh, congratulations! You're smarter than me. You hate everyone and everyone hates you. Genius!'

'The head likes me. I tied him up, turned his dumb school into a battleground, got kids expelled; _unfairly_, put several others into therapy, and he still likes me!'

Elliott couldn't listen anymore. Screw Jimmy, _she_ was going to beat the life out of him. She pushed the trapdoor open and hauled herself out. The rain flooded down onto her, soaking her immediately.

'You're such a loser!' Jimmy snarled, grabbing him. She saw the two of them grappling by the edge and felt a pang of panic. They were going to go over the edge.

'Well at least my mom doesn't make her living on her back!'

'You're _dead_!'

Elliott watched in horror as the two of them spilled over the edge and disappeared out of sight. She scrambled to her feet and ran across the roof, slipping and sliding around the fallen bells. She reached the edge and peered over, expecting to see two broken bodies at the bottom somewhere.

What she did see bewildered her. They had landed on some scaffolding a few meters below and were scrapping like dogs. She watched in astonishment. Even a near death fall didn't stop these two. She wouldn't be surprised if they had been fighting _whilst_ they had been falling. Edgar had been right; these two had been waiting a long time for this, and there was going to be no stopping them.

Gary slammed Jimmy up against the side of the scaffolding and for a moment she thought he was going to throw him off the side, but Jimmy was tougher and pushed him off easily. As soon as Gary hit the floor, the scaffolding gave way and they crashed down onto the next level.

She couldn't watch the two of them any longer. She was going to have a heart attack if they kept crashing through the scaffolding like that. She moved away from the edge, wiping the rain from her face. She felt sick and confused. Confused because she couldn't stand seeing Gary get punched by Jimmy, but at the same time she was rooting for Jimmy. She wanted Gary to get what was coming to him, but she didn't want him hurt. It was a stupid mixture of emotions and it was making her frustrated and angry.

Why the hell did she have to come to Bullworth? All the boarding schools in the world and she had to come _here_ and get involved with those two? Was she really _that_ unlucky? Was she really _that_ stupid to not see this coming? Everyone had told her how this would turn out and she had ignored every single one of them. And now look what was happening. Standing on the top of the school in the pouring rain with a pregnancy test in her pocket and listening to the sounds of a boy she, for some Godforsaken reason, cared about getting beaten bloody. How had this happened? How had is gotten to this-

There was another crash, this one louder. She heard shattering glass and rushed to the edge again. Rain ran off her face and she squinted to see. They had fallen through a glass roof and apparently landed in Dr Crabblesnitch's office. She could make out Gary lying on the floor. Jimmy was stirring beside him.

Elliott turned and ran back to the trapdoor, hopping down and hurrying back down the stairs. She burst out of the doors and skidded into the school corridor, slamming right into a waiting Prefect.

'What the hell are you doing in here?' he demanded angrily. 'The school is off limits!'

Elliott stared at him. 'There's a riot!' she reminded him. 'Shouldn't you be out stopping everyone?'

Another Prefect materialised beside her. 'They're being dealt with.' He grabbed her arm and repeated the other Prefect. 'The school is off limits.'

She stared in bewilderment as the other Prefect seized her other arm and began to march her towards the stairs. Realising what was happening, she broke from their grips and ran towards the Principal's office. She stopped at the doorway and stared at the sight of Gary lying groaning on the floor, surrounded by shards of glass. Slowly, Gary turned his head. His eyes rolled for a moment, and then focused on her. He blinked lazily, half smiled, and then passed out.

The Prefects grabbed her, but this time she didn't resist them.

'You _will_ do as you're told!' one of the Prefects barked in her ear, dragging her down the stairs.

'I'll never understand the minds of troublemakers.' The other Prefect commented, clutching tightly onto her arm.

Elliott allowed herself to be marched down the stairs and as she was pushed outside, where the rain had now stopped, she knew that that was probably the last time she would see Gary Smith.


	45. Tying Up Loose Ends

**A/N: **Okay, I decided to post the last chapter tonight. It's not very long anyway so it would be pointless to wait... and it's written and I'd probably just manage to delete it if I didn't post it now :P

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**Chapter LV:**

**"Tying Up Loose Ends"**

'Ding-dong, the bastard's dead.'

Elliott had heard someone chant that earlier. They would be disappointed when they realised that Gary wasn't dead, just expelled. Although already to most of the students that attended Bullworth Academy he might as well be dead. The fighting had swiftly ended when the Prefects and the Townies managed to beat everyone into submission. News quickly spread of Gary's downfall and Jimmy's reinstatement.

Elliott had felt unusually serene as she watched Jimmy being cheered by the same kids who had openly despised him the day before. She was still slightly wet from her outing on the roof; despite the fact the sun was now high in the cloudless sky. She had watched for a little while, intrigued by the sight of an unfamiliar red-haired girl kissing Jimmy on the school steps, and then finally headed out of the school gates.

Well that had been one spectacular way to end a relationship, if you could even call what she had with Gary as a relationship. She would have liked to talk to him again, just one more time before he was sent off to wherever the hell he was destined to go. The nuthouse more than likely. She would have liked to know if he had really just been using her in his intricate Anti-Jimmy plans. Sometimes she had thought he really had cared, but now she found it hard to believe that someone that twisted was even capable of liking another person. Maybe he just thought he liked her.

Elliott rubbed her head. She couldn't be bothered to try and figure out Gary's psyche. It would take a genius to manage that. She leaned against the wall outside the gates and slid down into a sitting position. No point thinking about it anymore anyway. It was all over now.

Still, she couldn't help but recall the look on his face when he had seen the pregnancy test. She couldn't quite place it. Shock? Certainly. Anger? No, not that… Acceptance?

No, not Gary.

She was still mentally kicking herself for allowing herself to get to this point and she figured that this whole experience wasn't going to bode well with her for future boyfriends. Great, to top everything off she was going to be one of those girls with 'trust issues'. Just when she thought she was screwed up enough already.

'Hey.'

Elliott looked up reluctantly. Her first instinct was to tell him so sling his hook, but she reminded herself that those days were gone now. Resenting him would just be stupid. But that didn't mean she wouldn't. 'Hi, Jimmy.'

Jimmy regarded her for a moment. 'What are you doing out here?' he asked. 'It's not a war zone anymore, you know.'

Elliott shrugged and glanced up the road, narrowing one eye against the sun. 'I know,' she replied. 'I just…' She paused and shrugged again. 'I guess I just wanted to come out here for a while.'

Jimmy glanced around and then sat against the wall beside her. She glanced at him with a slight frown.

'I thought you were being crowned King of the School again or something,' she said. 'Shouldn't you really be greeting your people?'

Jimmy glanced at her sideways. 'I'm not an idiot you know, I get that you're upset about Gary.'

Elliott wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She glanced away and began to chew on her thumbnail. 'I'm not upset,' she replied. 'Just… annoyed. Frustrated. Stupid.'

'Hey, you're not stupid, man.' Jimmy told her. 'Weird and easily led, yes, but stupid, no.'

She couldn't help but half smile. 'Thanks.' She said, sarcastically. 'Means a lot coming from you.'

'You do see it now though, don't you? What Gary was.'

'I guess.'

'He was bad for you, man. Bad for everybody. That kid has some major issues. I'm just glad he's gone now.'

Elliott took her thumb from her mouth and examined the bitten down nail. 'Do you know where he's gone?'

Jimmy shrugged. 'I don't want to know. Hopefully he's getting electroshock and has to go to group therapy and stuff.'

'Sounds fun.' She mumbled.

Jimmy regarded her for a moment and then patted her on the shoulder. He patted her like he would do on another guy, and thus took her by surprise with the force he used. 'It's all better now,' he told her. 'You'll see. No more bullies, no more stupid drama. You'll get over that jerk eventually.'

Elliott rolled her eyes. 'I'm not some dumb lovesick bimbo, Jimmy.'

'I didn't say you were. I just mean that you'll forget about him. Two years left, am I right?'

'Yeah.'

'You think we'll have that fresh start I talked about?'

Elliott hesitated. 'I guess so.'

He patted her on the shoulder again, but this time she braced herself for it. 'Great.' He rose to his feet and brushed the dust from his trousers. 'Because, y'know, there's no point in grudges and vendettas against people who don't deserve it. Life's too short.'

Elliott looked up at him thoughtfully. 'You're right.'

'Well,' Jimmy flexed his arms and cracked his knuckled. 'I guess I should go and greet my people.' He smirked, and then headed back into the school.

Elliott returned her attention to her bitten down thumbnail for a moment, contemplating what Jimmy had said.

He was right. Life was too short.

She pushed herself up and put her hands in her pockets. She held onto the slightly soggy pregnancy test box and made her way to the girl's dorm.

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'Longest. Minute. Ever.'

Elliott watched the seconds hand slowly make its way around her watch. It had only been twenty seconds, and yet it felt like a million years. She held the white plastic stick in her other hand, just above her watch so she could easily look between the small window and keep an eye on the time.

This was excruciating. Why couldn't they have a test that told you _immediately_? And in big obvious letters, not these stupid little lines. One pink line for not pregnant and two pink lines for pregnant. Or was it the other way around? She quickly checked the box and discovered that she was right the first time.

_Rooting for one line_, she told herself. _Come on, singular line_.

Thirty-five seconds. Jesus, she was pretty sure Father Time was messing with her here. She was sure a minute wasn't this long. She looked between the watch and the test again, her blue eyes flicking back and forth rapidly.

Forty seconds. Was that a line? She squinted and moved her face closer to the stick. _Not too close_, she warned herself. _You have just peed on it after all_. It was a very faint line, and it was purple! What the hell did purple mean? The box said the lines were supposed to be pink!

Elliott checked the box again but it said nothing about purple lines. Her heart was thumping in her chest. This was ridiculous. Why the hell was she so worked up? There was no way that she was…

Fifty-five seconds. She stared at the little window. One purple line. _No, wait… is that a smudge or…_

Sixty seconds. Elliott stared at the little window that contained the two purple lines. _Two_ lines.

She checked the box. One line for negative, two for positive. She checked the window again just in case. Two lines.

Elliott blinked, and then muttered, 'Shit.'

**TBC**

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**E/N:** Note the TBC instead of 'The End'! Lol, just in case some people go crazy thinking that I'm ending it completely on that note. As if you didn't see it coming xD I had to finish this now though, it was getting way too long. If I drew it out anymore it would have died a painful death D:

Quick bit about the next story, it's not going to be set in the school. Actually, no one's going to be at school anymore, but they'll still be kicking around in Bullworth. It's going to be called _'Running For Your Life Down Memory Lane' _(no clue why I've started using lengthy titles...) and it should be up tomorrow or Saturday. That's if it is Thursday today... I can't remember.

And I want to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed this story, it's the only reason I kept on at it! I'm really glad you all enjoyed it, makes the effort worthwhile :D Oh I totally suck at saying thanks. I'll say thanks with cheesecake instead *hands out cheesecake* I love you all! *sob* (excuse the Gwyneth Paltrow moment)


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